


It's A Long Way Down

by Winder



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Gang AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 17:06:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 38
Words: 133,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9334544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winder/pseuds/Winder
Summary: !TadashiXHiccup! Tadashi never really thought he'd ever see him again, not since he'd been taken away five years ago. Here he was though, back on the streets with the same dare devil attitude and know it all smirk. Tadashi knows he shouldn't get involved again, after all this guy is like a drug, and one taste could lead to nothing more then one long slip down.





	1. Chapter 1

Summary: Tadashi never really thought he'd ever see him again, not since he'd been taken away five years ago. Here he was though, back on the streets with the same dare devil attitude and know it all smirk. Tadashi knows he shouldn't get involved again, after all this guy is like a drug, and one taste could lead to nothing more then long slip down.

Pairing: Tadashi/Hiccup

Warning: Drinking, maybe some drug use, interventions

Disclaimer: Don't own HTTYD/BH6

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 1

"Ugh." Hiro muttered under his breath, laying himself out on the desk.

Tadashi tried his best to ignore his little brother, keeping his eyes on the lecture before him, but it was starting to get really hard with how much Hiro was poking at his side.

"Hey, Tadashi, Tadashi, Tadashi." Hiro whispered, keeping his voice just low enough that there would be no way for it to carry down to the man who was going on and on.

Slowly Tadashi could feel his concentration breaking as he finally snapped and snatched his brothers fingers. Giving them a light squeeze he turned to the boy who was grinning cheekily up at him. Not buying it for one second Tadashi let his fingers go and gave the boy's forehead a small flick.

"Pay attention knucklehead." He scolded, earning himself a childish stuck out tongue.

"Mr. Hamada Senior."

Tadashi jumped as his name was called, snapping back to attention as he smiled somewhat sheepishly down at the man below. His teacher, Mr. Cunningham, did not smile back. In return he gave the boy a stern glare with his shockingly sharp blue eyes from behind his thick rimmed glasses as the rest of the students turned to face the one in the spot light.

"I would like to ask that you would not further distract my students. If you find this lecture to be boring to you then you can feel free to complete a ten page essay on the inner workings of the coding process that is done on an everyday electric billboard."

Not able to do anything other then give a tight lipped smile and a quick nod of his head Tadashi had to fight back on giving his little brother a whack across the back of the head. Hiro, for his part, managed to hold back his laughter until the man looked away and continued with his lecture. Tadashi didn't stop himself from glaring at the smaller male as Hiro buried his face in his arms to keep his sounds of amusement muffled.

This was the third essay he'd gotten this week no thanks to Hiro, and it was only Tuesday.

"I'm going to kill you." He whispered to the boy, finally catching his attention as Hiro lifted his head up a little bit to smirk at his big brother.

"You're the one who wanted me here." Hiro reminded him, shrugging his shoulders before sitting back up. "You've got to deal with the consequence of your wish big brother."

At that Tadashi could only smile, reaching a hand out to ruffle the boy's hair. As much as Hiro did drive him crazy and got him into trouble now that he was here, Tadashi really was glad that he was here rather then wasting his time out there running around looking for bot fights.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." He assured as Hiro beamed back at him.

"Make that a fifteen page essay Tadashi." Mr. Cunningham said, making the older Hamada brother fight back on a groan and a rough face plant on his desk.

Hiro just snickered evilly from his side as Tadashi forced himself to smile and nod once more.

(***)

"Well, you've certainly looked happier." Gogo said as she popped another bubble while Tadashi dragged himself into the lab.

Hiro just skipped passed him, off to go visit Honey Lemon to talk about a new type of chemically enhanced fiber they had been talking about earlier.

"I now have another twenty page essay I have to do." He muttered, pulling at his hat and playing with the rim and back for a moment.

"Twenty pages?" Gogo repeated while he gave her a sheepish smile.

"It started as ten."

Without even having to say anything Gogo's eyes drifted over to the reason for the papers in the first place.

"It's amazing that he never gets caught." She said and he could only chuckle in agreement.

"The young and the free." He said, an easy smile over his face as he watched his little brother talking with an excited Honey.

It really was something to watch the two together. Watching their arms flying this way and that as they explained themselves and seeing how big their eyes would get when one of them mentioned something particularity interesting was actually rather adorable.

"Something tells me you weren't nearly that bad when you were his age." Gogo said, missing the grimace that passed over Tadashi's face for only a split moment. "Anyways," she continued, turning to face him with a hand on her hip as he smiled down at her, "I wanted to know if you wanted to come out with us tonight. Everyone else has already agree and Wasabi said that he would be DD so you'd be able to drink too."

"You know I don't drink Gogo." Tadashi said, his smile never wavering even after she glared at him. "Thanks for the invite though, but I'm just going to stay in tonight."

"Don't you ever get bored of that?" She questioned, cocking a single brow upward. "You never come out with us. In fact I don't think I've ever heard you tell a story that starts with, 'You'll never guess what I did last night'. Everyone's got those stories Tadashi."

-and he did too, but it was nothing he was ever going to tell anyone about, much less the people he was with now. Instead of voicing any of that though he just shrugged his shoulders and gave her an easy smile.

"I like being just boring old me. Besides, I have way to many essays to write now as it is, and the upgrades on Baymax still need to be done." He told her, only earning himself an eye roll and a wave of her hand.

"Ya ya. Go be king of the nerds." She said moving over to her own work space as Tadashi continued on over to his.

There was no point in grabbing Hiro, he was working on his own project anyways, so Tadashi left him alone and made his way to his lab. Waving a quick hello to Fred and Wasabi as he passed he flipped open his satchel and pulled out one of his any text books. Thumbing through it his eyes scanned over the pages while his feet brought him through the doorway of his lab.

Nodding his head at some of the notes he'd posted in the sides he quickly snapped it shut and brought his gaze upwards. He came to a sudden halt when he saw a flash of black and an almost shining blue slip out of his window. It had been to small to be a person, but it's tail had been to long and scaly to be a bird.

Shrugging it off as a lizard Tadashi moved back over to his table and took a seat. New ideas for Baymax were already filling up his brain and he wanted to get them down as soon as possible.

(***)

"Tadashi."

Nearly jumping out of his skin at the call of his name Tadashi scrambled to keep the book in his hands from falling to the floor. Placing the book on the table he turned around in his chair to see Hiro standing in his doorway.

"You ready to go bro?" The boy questioned, a large smile on his face as he invited himself into the room, his helmet already tucked away under his arm.

Glancing over at his clock Tadashi found his eyes going wide when he saw the it was already around eight thirty. Classes had come to an end hours ago and he'd locked himself away in his lab since then. He hadn't even realized how much time had gone by, he'd been to zoned out with his new ideas to even notice. Moving his gaze back to his brother, who was a lot closer now then before, Tadashi gave the boy a small smile as he nodded his head.

"Yeah sure, just let me put a few of my things away first okay?" He said, ruffling the boy's messy hair before he got up and started to shuffle around the room.

He heard the small squeak of the chair after having a body throw itself on it and couldn't help but chuckle as he turned back to see Hiro spinning around in it already.

"You know, the others already left for the night." Hiro said while Tadashi nodded to show he had heard him as he placed some books in his bag. "Gogo said they were all going to hangout tonight at a new club that was opening up."

"That's nice." Tadashi said, snatching one of his books off the shelf and flipping through it. He could use this one for some lighter reading tonight after he was finished typing up one of his essays.

"Ya, they said that they invited you too." Hiro continued.

"Yes, and I declined." The older male said as he moved back over to his desk and started to fold up some of his blue prints neatly.

What he was doing was brought to a stop when Hiro stubbornly placed his hand down and pressed it flatly against the paper. There was no way that Tadashi was going to be able to finish folding it up without ripping it or forcefully removing Hiro's hand. With a sigh he dropped the blueprints and looked down at his little brother.

"Okay, what's wrong?"

His question only made the boy sigh as he brought his elbow up to replace his hand and dropped his chin into his palm.

"Why don't you ever go out?"

Tadashi felt a small frown come to his face as he leaned against his desk. Gogo had basically asked him the same thing earlier. If he was a betting man he would have started a pool for people to see when his other three friends were going to ask him the same question.

"It's not because you're worried about me is it?" Hiro asked, his head ducking just a little bit as his gaze dropped the the desk in front of him.

Letting out a small sigh Tadashi placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and caught his attention. Giving the boy a soft smile he only shook his head as if the very idea itself was ridiculous.

"Not all people enjoy that kind of thing Hiro." Tadashi explained simply. "I'm just happy enough being with you and Aunt Cass okay? I couldn't think of a better way to spend my nights then listening to her stories about what happened at the shop today or hearing every idea that pops into that big brain of yours." He chuckled, poking Hiro's forehead to emphasize his point.

He could feel his heart getting just a little bit lighter when Hiro snickered at him, shoving his brother's hand away from his face as he removed himself from blocking the papers.

"God you're so boring." Hiro chuckled harmlessly, pushing himself out of the chair as Tadashi rolled his eyes and moved to finish packing up his stuff. "Hurry up though, Aunt Cass said she'd be making hot wings tonight."

Throwing his bag over his shoulder Tadashi snatched up his own helmet before throwing an arm around his brother's shoulders.

"Well we can't miss that can we?" He grinned as they made their way out.

(***)

Tadashi raised the full glass of milk to his lips and drowned it in one go. To his dismay that didn't seem to do much as he then snatched up a few rolls of bread and shoved them into his mouth. He loved his Aunt wings, really he did, but that didn't erase the fact that they were hotter then anything that he could think of and could almost burn a hole in your stomach.

Looking across the table he was happy to see that Hiro was in the same state that he was, greedily pouring more milk in his glass and wasting no time and chugging it down. Cass seemed to be the only one who was having almost no problem as she continued to munch happily on her own wings while asking the boy's this and that about school.

Neither of them were finding it to easy to answer though, not with the way that their tongues felt like they were going to swell up in their mouths to ten times their normal size. Even so Hiro still managed to say enough for the both of them and Tadashi was only to happy for that as he chugged back another glass of milk.

After he'd helped with the dishes Tadashi headed up the stairs to go join his brother. His phone went off in his pocket half way up and he fished it out. Sliding it open he smiled down at the picture of all of his friends taking a selfie at the bar of the club.

This places is amazing! XD Wish you were here! 3

Chuckling at Honey Lemon's message Tadashi typed back a quick response and placed the item back in his pocket.

When he finally got to his shared room he wasn't to shocked to see Hiro sitting at his computer desk with a screwdriver in his mouth and his hands fiddling away on his old Megabot. Although the boy swore that he would never go bot fighting again Hiro said that he found it a good way to relive stress to tinker away on the old battle bot every now and then. Tadashi didn't mind it at all, he actually thought that it was really helping Hiro with his project at school too. Sometimes he figured all the boy needed was to separate himself from the task and his mind would wander and come up with a new plan all on it's own.

"I'm going to take a shower okay Hiro?" Tadashi said as he made his way over to his side of the room and snatched up a few of his things.

"Mhm." Hiro mumbled, his response being blocked by the item in his mouth as he nodded absently.

Seeing that the boy was to far gone in his own mind to really pick up what was going on around him the older male could only snicker as he threw the towel over his shoulder with his pajamas in one hand. Walking passed Hiro he made his way to the bathroom and quietly closed the door behind himself.

Placing his things down on the counter he pulled his shirt over his head before he moved over to the shower and turned it on. Sticking his hands under the water while waiting for it to warm up he scanned the side of the tub to see it he had everything he needed. He couldn't stop himself from giving a small eye roll when he noticed that there was only a sliver of soap left.

Pulling his hand back from the water he wiped it across his pants as he turned back to the counter. Kneeling down in front of it he opened one of the drawers along the side near the bottom and pulled out a small box with a fresh bar. Smiling to himself he stood back up and ripped the box open, removing the item he was looking for.

As he lifted his head back up he felt his smile fade at the sight of the black that stained his skin. He normally hated standing in front of the mirror shirtless for this reason. He normally tried to avoid it at all costs. He hadn't seen it in so long though that he'd almost forgot about the fact that it was even there.

Turning his hips slightly and lifting up his arm Tadashi's eyes traced over the the mark that he'd had for years. It was a dragon, all done in a deep black that had somehow managed to keep its color over the years. It's wings were spread out and its feet positioned in a way that looked as if it was ready to swoop down at any moment and snatch up its prey. One of its feet was inside the area of black that made up its body, that foot wasn't done in black and instead was a sharp white color, the same as its eyes.

Running his fingers over the mark Tadashi could feel his stomach twist as he tore his gaze away from the sight and moved back over to the shower.

He didn't need to go out to bars to get drunk or buzzed, he didn't need any stories that started with 'you'll never guess what happened last night', he didn't need to be less boring and go out and do more interesting things. Tadashi had enough of those. He had enough crazy nights, he had enough drunk stories, he had enough 'waking up and not knowing where the hell he was' mornings. He had so many it would make all of his friends blue in the face if they ever tried to compare.

He didn't want that anymore. He didn't want to go to bars or clubs because he didn't want to run into anyone from his old life, he didn't want anyone asking what had happened to him, where had he gone, what had happened to NightFury.

Rubbing at his eyes Tadashi pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind.

He was Tadashi Hamada, kind, caring, robotics student with an amazing Aunt, a wonderful baby brother who'd just started taking classes at his school, and a crazy group of friends who were all going to change the world.

He wasn't Tadashi eating razor blades, quick finger thief, silver tongued hustler Hamada anymore. He didn't get into fist fights and annihilate his enemies with brute force. He didn't run the streets every night and sometimes not come back home for days. Not anymore. He'd moved on.

Hand tracing over the pattern subconsciously once more, Tadashi just stared at the water pouring steam into the air. His friends were lucky they didn't know him back then. Hiro was lucky he was to young to remember. He was lucky things went to hell when they did. He was lucky his Aunt still wanted to help him even after all of the hell that he put her through.

Closing his eyes Tadashi let out a long sigh as he placed the soap down on the ledge of the bath tub.

There was nothing wrong with what he was now. He was good, he didn't get in trouble, his life was perfect.

He ignored the voice in the back of his head that snarled 'boring' and scratched at cage walls for the life of freedom he turned away from.


	2. Chapter 2

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 2

_He could feel his head pounding in time to the music that assaulted his ears and left his mind ringing. Only barely could he see through the thick haze of the place, his fingers tapping across the dirty top of the table mindlessly. He was nearly gagging on the thick smoke that lingered in the air while the one sitting next to him bumped into him constantly, swaying to the beat of the dreaded noise.

It was taking way to long. He didn't even really feel like being out tonight, much less here. If anything he would have preferred to go to a fight or something, at least then he could have worked out some of the weird feelings he'd been having lately with his fists, he wouldn't even mind bot fighting right now.

"I think we should bail!" He shouted, his voice barely managing to carry over the music as the one next to him continued on.

Whether he didn't hear him thanks to the volume of the place, or he was just flat out ignoring him, Tadashi had no idea. With a roll of his eyes he placed a hand on the thin shoulder and pulled the other back some. Pressing his mouth to his ear he tried again.

"Fury let's go!"

His effort got him a sharp jab in the stomach with a pointed elbow, knocking the wind out of him for a few seconds. Before he could recover from his doubled up position he felt a hand grab the back of his neck and lips at his own ear.

"They're almost done." The words were hissed into his ear, sending a sharp shiver down his spine as Tadashi licked at his dry lips. "They just have a few more to put in the bag and then we'll leave."

The hand was gone not even seconds later and Fury turned away from him to continue watching, returning to his swaying. Tadashi on the other hand worked on slowing down his heart rate.

He wasn't afraid of Fury, getting an elbow in the stomach was something that happened at least once a day and sometimes it was Tadashi delivering the blow. They were young boys, rough-housing came with the territory. Either way though, for reasons he couldn't figure out, his heart always seemed to beat just a little quicker the closer that Fury was to him, and the flush on his face he couldn't even blame on the alcohol since he'd barely taken a sip out of his cup.

After all, tonight was not the night to be hammered.

Pushing the feelings aside he sat back in his seat, his eyes scanning over to the overcrowded dance floor and wondering when the next time they would be in a club to actually dance. They wouldn't be allowed back in this one, that was for sure, but this place was kind of a dump anyways so he couldn't say that he would miss it all that much.

Just as he opened his mouth to ask he felt a hand wrap around his wrist that was soon enough followed by a quick jerk pulling him out of his seat. When his wrist was set free he speed up his pace a little bit until he was walking in step right next to the boy.

They made their way out of the club without a word. Walking into the open alley Tadashi followed next to him as they continued to the end of the building before taking a sharp turn, where they waited against the wall.

Tadashi crossed his arms over his chest, shivering slightly in the tempter difference from outside the club. Fury took his place in front of him, his sharp green eyes nearly seeming to glow in the darkness of the night. Although that was probably just the lighting and his mind making things up.

"Souls of dragons."

The voice broke him out of his haze as his attention was brought to the hand that was held in front of him. Reaching out he locked his hand, grasping the other tightly as he gave him a ghost of a smile.

"Souls of dragons."_

Tadashi was awoken by the words tumbling from his lips. His mind still full of cobwebs as his body tried to shake itself out of its dream like state. Not even seconds later he heard the small beep from his bedside table.

Pushing the memory from his mind he let out a deep breath and began his day.

Quickly shutting off his alarm he sat up. Moving quickly he dressed himself in a simple pair of jogging pants and a loose fitting sweater before he slid open the divider that separated his part of the room from Hiro's.

Making his way across the room as if he was tip toeing through a minefield, Tadashi spared a quick glance over at his brother who was still sleeping peacefully halfway over his bed. He had to hold back a laugh as the boy's mouth hung open and his hair was even wilder then normal.

Moving on to the stairs he skipped over the ones that squeaked and didn't breath easy until he was on the landing of their living room area. Taking a look over at the clock he briefly glanced over the aqua colored numbers showing him that it was only now hitting five as he continued on to the bottom part of the floor.

Slipping into his running shoes Tadashi pulled open the door and started his jog up right away.

He'd never had problems with getting up early, at least not after a few years of doing so. In fact he quiet enjoyed it now as he deeply inhaled the brisk morning air that still had the night chill to it.

If there was just one thing that he'd never been able to leave behind of his old life it was the fact that he use to love running around the streets at night. There was just something so comforting about the lack of people, something so beautiful in the way that the darkness showed. Sure it was never as dark now that he went in the mornings as it use to be during his nights, but he loved it none the less.

Turning down a street he allowed his mind to wander as his feet took him wherever they wanted to go.

Some of the new upgrade he was thinking about for Baymax were maybe a little out of the box for him, but he couldn't help but think about what Hiro had brought up just the other week as he turned another corner.

_'You should totally give him wings.' Hiro said, stuffing more gummy bears into his mouth while his feet swung back and forth.

Tadashi looked up from the sandwich he'd been eating as he raised a brow at his brother with a smile over his lips.

'Wings?' He repeated, his voice light with amusement as Hiro nodded his head enthusiastically. 'And how is that going to help?'

'Well, you know.' Hiro shrugged as his arms moved out wildly like they had a habit of doing when he spoke. 'He could fly to accidents and whatnot, or he could fly people to hospitals.'

Lifting his chin to show that he heard Tadashi let out a small 'ah' sound before a gummy bear had been thrown at his head.

'You're just jealous you didn't think of it.' Hiro sneered as he stuck his tongue out at the older male._

While wings on Baymax would be interesting, but it would lead to a lot of new protocols that he would have to list and even more safety features. He couldn't imagine anyone being to interested in having a bunch of robots flying around caring injured people as well. There could be to many things that could end up going wrong. Still, it was an interesting idea and...

Tadashi skid to a halt. He wasn't breathing hard, more of a light pant then anything, but his heart was hammering in his chest none the less as he stared down the alley he was about to run down.

He hadn't been in this alley for awhile, at least a few months or so in fact, and only because he'd had to pick up Hiro from one of his bot fights, but he knew that mark hadn't been there before. He felt his hands grow sweaty as he swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry while he went over every curve and dip of the graffiti over the wall with his sharp golden gaze.

It was in the shape of a dragon, its tail coming up near its face creating a circle. The face of it was almost a narrow oval shape with oval shaped eyes and while half of its tail was black, the other half was a brighter color with a white skull symbol sticking out from the blood shade red. The style of the design was much like the one that Tadashi had tattooed to his side. For that matter it was the exact same style, and the image was something that Tadashi had seen before, all those years ago.

Bringing himself in deeper to the alley he approached it slowly. It was stupid but he couldn't help but act as if it was a real dragon, as if at any moment it would uncurl itself and snap at him with large sharp teeth. Raising his hand up to the mark he ran his fingertips over its outline.

Some of the paint was still wet.

This didn't make any sense though. This mark shouldn't have been here. It shouldn't have been new. It should have been buried away just like everything else. If this mark was here it could only mean one thing.

Ripping his hand away Tadashi took a few steps back. For a long while he couldn't tare his eyes away, almost as if the icon itself had hypnotized him. After a few more steps he finally managed to turn away, darting out of the alley and booking it back in the direction of home.

-Souls of Dragons.-

(***)

Tadashi had the palm of his hand pressed firmly to his mouth. His leg wouldn't stop bouncing underneath the table and his pencil was being spun at such a rapid pace that it just looked like a giant yellow blur on his hand. He could tell that some people in the class were a little off put by his need to move around, he could even feel the burn of Hiro staring at him, but he couldn't stop.

It shouldn't have mattered if he was back in town, they hadn't seen each other in five years after all, but he couldn't stop thinking about. If he was back out there, if he was on those streets again... Maybe he had changed though? If he had then why would he go with his old symbol? Why would it have been painted on the wall in some shady part of town? Now that he thought about it why would someone do that? It had just been painted, obviously it was still wet after all, had Tadashi just missed him? Was it even Fury?

Why did he care?

"You okay bro?" Hiro whispered, nudging his brother's arm gently with his elbow.

Even though it was the softest nudge imaginable it was still enough to throw Tadashi off and for his pencil to slip out of his hand. As he watched it roll over the side and off the desk and onto the floor he found that his mind just couldn't stay focused enough to give Hiro an answer.

He knew why he cared, he knew why he wanted to know if Fury was really back in town and so close. He knew why it was making him nervous and squirmy and why he couldn't stop thinking of it.

He wanted to see him. He wanted to see Fury again. No, that wasn't right, he wanted to see Hiccup.

He wanted to see the kid who he'd spent five years of his life running around with. He wanted to talk to the guy who had been ripped away from him so long ago. He wanted to see with his own two eyes just what had happened to the boy he use to know and what he'd grown up to be. Mostly though he just wanted to know if Hiccup forgave him. He wanted to know if Hiccup ever blamed him for what had happened in the first place.

It killed him to know that he couldn't do any of it.

He couldn't see Hiccup again. The guy was like a poison, a drug. Tadashi didn't even realize how much he was drowning in the boy's world until he'd been yanked out if it. The worst was that he knew if he did see Hiccup again, he'd be only to willing to dive right back in.

"Mr. Hamada Senior," The teacher called, their voice barely enough to bring him out of his thoughts as he brought his gaze away from the wall in front of him to the middle of the class, "is my class boring you?" Miss. Fouler questioned, a tight frown over her lips.

"No." He muttered, the words barely passing by his lips before his gaze drifted back over to the wall.

"Then I expect you to be following along with the rest of the class, and start taking notes." She ordered before turning back to the board before her.

"Okay."

Even with her order he didn't bother taking out his notebook, he'd already read about it in the book and read the slides before he'd even entered the class. His mind wandered off again, not noticing the look of worry written over the face of his little brother who only flopped back in his seat.

(***)

"Okay spill." Hiro grumbled the second that they had walked out of the building and were heading to the labs.

Tadashi only raised a brow at his little brother as he felt the heat of the sun warming his skin.

"What are you talking about?" He question, one of his hands coming up to play with the rim of his hat while his other hand was wrapped tightly around the strap of his satchel.

Hiro only frowned at him, both of his eyebrows coming up as if to say that they were calling Tadashi's bullshit. Forcing a smile over his face the older Hamada brother threw an arm around Hiro shoulders and brought him in close.

"I'm fine Hiro." He chuckled, raising his hand to give the boy a nuggie.

His arm came to a stop mid motion though when his eyes landed on someone just outside the campus.

Standing against one of the many shops that sat just across from his school was a person. Not just any person though, the one he'd been afraid to see. He was much older now, and even though Tadashi couldn't make out much from the distance he could still see that he was much taller now then what he use to be and it seemed that his hair had even grown a little bit longer.

Sadly, before Tadashi could take any more of his features in he was gone. In the blink of an eye he simply vanished into thin air. A truck drove in front of him, blocking Tadashi's view for mere seconds, but it was enough for, who he presumed to be Hiccup, to disappear like a ghost.

Then again it could have just been his mind playing tricks on him of course.

"Tadashi! Let me go!"

Just remembering that he was still pretty much dragging Hiro around by the neck Tadashi quickly released his brother, only able to smile at him sheepishly when Hiro shot him a sharp glare.

"You're fine my ass." The boy snarled as Tadashi frowned and gave him a whack upside the head.

"Language Hiro." He scolded as he wagged a finger at the boy.

"Seriously though." Hiro continued, the only sign to show that he was hit was him rubbing his head. "You've been acting a little weird all day. You didn't even offer to help Aunt Cass with the dishes this morning."

Had he not? He really thought he had. Most of his morning was a bit of a blur, his mind was really in other places.

"Just," Tadashi started as his gaze slid over to the place where he could have sworn he saw the ghost of his past standing just a few seconds ago, "I've just been thinking of Baymax's upgrades is all." He muttered, feeling his stomach tighten at the lie he told all to easily to his brother. "I've been going over the ideas for the wings that you were talking about."

This seemed to please Hiro enough as the a large toothy smile broke out over his face and his eyes lit up in excitement.

"Really? See! You think it's a great idea don't you! I've actually been thinking about it a little bit too! I mean how cool would it be if we could..."

Tadashi could only nod, zoning out most of the conversation as he glanced back at the place from over his shoulder, if only to confirm that it was empty one more time.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"What the hell are you doing?"

Tadashi looked up from the computer board he had been screwing around with at the sound of the voice. Arching a brow at the boy who had just finished walking in the door he tossed the item in his hands on the table. He didn't care if it was adding to the scratches that already littered the table top as long as it freed his hand to pull the cigarette from his mouth.

"Screwing around. Wh..?"

"That's not what I meant." Fury hissed, his voice low and laced with irritation as he dropped the thin plastic bags at his feet.

Feeling his brows furrow together at what could possibly be pissing the boy off right now, he did nothing other then stay in place as the boy marched up to him. He didn't move when the thin white stick was ripped out of his mouth, but his golden gaze followed the slender fingers as they snapped the stick in half. Seconds later it was thrown to the ground and crushed underneath a thick boot before the boot turned its attention to him, giving him a sharp kick in the shins.

"Ow!" He hiss, his body jolting as he quickly reached down and rubbed at the sore place on his leg. "What was that for?"

"You need your lungs dumbass." The other sneered, turning his back on him to pick up the bags he'd abandon seconds ago. "Who'd you get them from?"

Rolling his eyes Tadashi stood up, hearing the cheap plastic chair creak loudly as he did so.

"Whispers." He muttered as he glared down at the small burn in the stained carpet, silently mourning it.

"Do you have anymore?" The boy questioned as he placed the few items he had in the door less cupboards.

"That was my first one." Tadashi answered truthfully. There was no point in lying to Fury, it only lead to more of an ass kicking and a bigger argument later.

"Throw it away."

"Fine, whatever." Tadashi sighed, taking the pack out of his pocket and tossing it in the garbage. "There, you happy now?"

That seemed to finally catch Fury's attention as he turned around and tightly crossed his arms over his chest. Tadashi could feel his face heat up, although he couldn't figure out why, as the cold green eyes burned into his face. Fury's thin lips were pressed into a tight line and his brows were narrowed down to his eyes. After awhile Tadashi simply looked away, clearing his throat as he wiped his suddenly sweaty hands on the rough material of his jeans.

"You stressed?"

The sudden question made the Asian male snap his attention right back to the brunet as his mouth dropped open a little bit.

"Wha-? No. Why would you..."

"Most people start smoking from stress." Fury continued his gaze calculating and categorizing every move Tadashi made.

"Out of all of the things I do and you get mad at the smoking." Tadashi growled, his gaze narrowing as he looked to the other side of the small room, his attention being caught by the cracked TV they'd managed to swipe. Had the crack always been that big?

"You already have enough habits, I don't see any reason for you to get more." NightFury said, his tone on the line of annoyance as Tadashi could hear his feet shuffling closer.

He only brought his gaze away from the TV when he felt the back of a hand giving him a gentle but stern whack against his chest.

Locking his gaze with emerald green eyes that were a little to close he balled his hands up into fists against his jeans. Having Fury this close was making his heart hammer hard in his chest like he'd just been running, sprinting for hours. Maybe he was allergic to the deodorant that Fury wore, he was going to have to ask him to change it.

"Listen Skrill, if you want out..."

"I don't." His words were quick, but sure, and he took a small amount of sanctification in the twitch of Fury's lips that showed he was holding back a smile. "You're stuck with me Fury."

Bringing his arm up Tadashi gave the boy a smile of his own while Fury eyed his hand.

"Souls of dragons." He grinned, this time earning himself a light chuckle and a soft smile as Hiccup clasped his hand and gave it a solid shake.

"Souls of dragons."

So far it had been a week. A week since he'd seen the mark. A week since he'd thought that he saw Hiccup standing there. A week of old memories plague his mind almost ever minute of every day.

He knew that Hiccup was back. A glimpse of the boy had been all the evidence that he needed to know that he was back. It didn't matter that the glimpse was only a few seconds long and that it showed how much the boy had changed, he knew it was him. He just couldn't get his mind off of why Hiccup had shown up and then not bothered to see him again after that.

Tadashi knew it would be impossible to find Hiccup himself, after all the the nightfury could have a tracker placed on him and he'd still be able to make it seem like he'd wiped himself off of the face of the earth, but why hadn't he come to talk?

It could be that he was mad, it could mean that he did blame Tadashi for what had happened. It could be a number of things but unless Hiccup was here he didn't have any answers.

The unanswered questions kept nagging at his mind and distracting him from everything. As it was now his blueprints were laid out in front of him, and he hadn't done a thing on them since last week when he'd been sketching some very rough designs. Even though he'd been the one working on them his eyes narrowed down at the plans, almost as if he couldn't make heads or tails of what they were, who had done them and why. His brain just felt so lost and he had no idea how he was supposed to bring it back into focus.

A knock on his door made him break his gaze away from the foreign looking papers, glad to have a distraction for a little while.

"Come in." He called out, turning in his chair to face whoever it maybe have been. "Oh, hey Honey."

The blond gave him a small smile as she walked into his lab and took a look around. He didn't know what she had been looking for, but there was a tiny frown on her brightly painted lips and her brows were pulled together as she eyed Baymax's charging station still sitting in the corner. When she turned back to him though her smiled had softened in the same way that Aunt Cass' did whenever she thought that something was wrong.

"Hi Tadashi." She said moving over to his desk before she stopped. "How have you been?"

"Pretty good." He said with the smallest shrug of his shoulders.

There was no way that he loved lying, but he couldn't tell his friends what he was actually thinking as of late. He'd done so well in burying his past, he didn't want to dig it up for the whole world to see the skeletons he had laying beneath the dirt.

She gave a small hum, her eyes darting back over to Baymax before she cleared her throat.

"I heard that you didn't hand in one of the essays for the teachers..."

"They're a joke anyways." Tadashi interrupted, unable to help the small roll of his eyes as he turned back to his table. "I get their message, don't talk during class. I don't see the reason for wasting my time on something like then when I have other things to work on."

"Like what?" Honey asked, her voice soft and lacking the normal buzz of energy.

"Like Baymax." Tadashi said, looking up at the girl from over his shoulder with a single brow raised.

She didn't say anything right away as he started at her. Soon her lips were sucked into her mouth, her thin brows almost meeting together in the middle of her forehead as her head tilted the slightest bit sideways.

"You haven't been working on Baymax all week." She said, her glasses sliding just a little bit down her nose before she continued. "You haven't really been working on anything all week."

Tadashi felt a small twist in his stomach as his hand tightened into a fist on the desk and his lips twitched slightly. Did these guys have nothing better to do then watch him? Didn't they have their own projects to work on? Their own classes to study for and their own homework to do? Why did they care what he did? Why did it matter to them if he was falling a little bit behind on his work?

Looking up at her face, seeing the worry in the bright green eyes hidden behind even brighter pink glasses he felt his anger fade.

Right, they were just worried, just like he would be if it were one of them that was starting to act weird. He had no right to be mad, he would have been the same way.

Letting out a long sigh he felt tension he didn't even realize he had in his shoulders slip away as he leaned back in his chair.

"You're right." He said, his easy smile coming to his face as his gaze softened. "I'm sorry, I've just been..." he trailed off as he intertwined his fingers together and thought about something that would sound a little believable without giving her the truth. "I've just been thinking of an old school mate of mine."

At that her eyes went wide, apparently seeming shocked at the news, after all Tadashi didn't talk much about anything that had really happened in his high school years or middle school years. He'd always just told them it had been boring and normal.

"Are they alright?" She asked, jumping to the conclusion that they might have been hurt or dead if it was effecting him this much.

His smile lost some of its luster as he tried to come up with a reason why thinking about an old friend would be bothering him this much. If he said that he was dead then they'd want to go to his funeral to pay their respects. If he was hurt then they would all drag him to which ever hospital that he wouldn't be in with balloons and chocolates.

"They're moving." Tadashi found himself saying before he could stop. "Or more like they're moving back." He said, sitting up in his seat, suddenly finding it uncomfortable.

"Oh?" Honey said, her voice light while her brows moved upwards.

"Ya, I uh, I just found out." He said, moving his hands up to play with the corners of the blueprints.

"Well have they gotten in contact with you? Were you guys like, best buds?" She asked, suddenly getting excited as Tadashi forced out a short laugh.

"Ya, something like that." He agreed while his hands moved up to play with the rim of his baseball cap. "But um, I'm not sure if they want to see me again or anything, they haven't made any attempt to contact me."

"Oh." Suddenly her frown was back as she clasped her hands in front of herself. "Is there anyways for you to contact them?"

"Nope." Tadashi said, before he pushed away from his desk and got to his feet. "I think I'm just going to head home for the night."

His declaration was so sudden that Honey did nothing other then blink at first before she slowly moved out of his way.

"It's only five." She said as he brought a hand up to rub at the back of his neck.

"Ya I know." He chuckled before moving the hand up to rub at his eyes. "I'm just really tired right now."

"Ah, I understand." The blond cooed as she gave him a sympathetic smile. "You had a crush on them didn't you?"

"What!" Tadashi could barely sputter the word out as his face went bright red all the way down to his collarbone. "No Honey Lemon, I didn't just..."

"No! It totally makes sense now!" She tasked as her eyes went wide in a puppy-dog like appearance. "You use to be in love with them and now they aren't even contacting you and you feel heart broken." She continued, ignoring his shaking head and bewildered look. "Oh Tadashi." She sighed as she wrapped her thin arms around him in a surprisingly tight hold. "This makes so much sense now."

"How do you come up with these things?" He muttered, giving into the hug as he loosely wrapped his arms around her.

She simply continued to coo over him like a mother would over their child when they fell and scrapped their knee.

"You just take all of the time you need." She concluded as she finally pulled back.

Giving up on trying to defend himself Tadashi only nodded his head before he allowed her to hook their arms together and lead them out of his lab.

"It is okay my friends!" She suddenly shouted, gathering the attention of everyone in the room, their group included. "Tadashi isn't ill! He is simply suffering from the effects of cupid!"

If his face had been red before it was nothing compared to what it was now. Everyone that wasn't in their group turned away at the news, thank god, but sadly his friends and little brother didn't. Hiro only looked at him in confusion, his brows drawn together and a small open mouthed frown on his face. He didn't bother hopping off of Gogo's desk though as his legs continued to sway almost lazily back and forth.

"Tadashi in love? I think you might have gotten it wrong Honey." The younger Hamada said as he slowly shook his head. "Tadashi doesn't hangout with anyone other then us. You're talking about the guy who has almost zero social life."

"Thanks." Tadashi deadpanned as he was marched up to the group before being released.

"No, no!" Honey continued as she waved her hands back and forth while her eyes were wide. "This is a high school crush." She explained, as if that would help clear things up.

Tadashi on the other hand only chuckled softly as he shook his head.

"I don't know where you come up with these things."

"Well it would explain your behavior lately." Wasabi said as a small smirk came to his face.

"Ya, you've been zoning out for the better part of the week." Gogo added, biting down on her gum and releasing a loud snap into the air.

"Yes!" Fred exclaimed as he jumped up from the way he'd been leaning over the table, his finger already pointing out towards the other. "It was an unrequited love from your old high school days and this is the month that they turned you down and shattered your heart, which would explain why you've never shown interest in anyone again!"

Tadashi was glad that he wasn't the only one in the group that was looking at the science enthusiast with a raised brow at his wild theory.

"He didn't act this way last year around this time." Gogo pointed out, completely crushing the idea as Hiro let out a sharp bark of a laugh.

"Ya, and we went to high school together. I think I would remember if Tadashi was hanging out with anyone other then me." He muttered no doubt remembering his high school years as a time that Tadashi was with him almost every second of every day.

Not that Tadashi could be blamed for that. There were a lot of nasty people to Hiro in high school and Tadashi didn't want their negativity anywhere near his baby brother.

"He said that they're back in town now and they haven't contacted him." Honey went on. "Maybe it was a person he hid from you Hiro. Maybe he didn't think you would approve!" She suddenly squealed, as if the idea of forbidden love was the most adorable thing.

Hiro only gave her a somewhat weak chuckle.

"Alright, well, while you guys are busy wondering about my personal life I'm..."

His next words were interrupted by the sharp ring of his cell that was so sudden it caused the rest of them to jump, well, other then Gogo. Slipping his phone out of his pocket Tadashi raised a brow when he saw it was his Aunt.

"Hey Aunt Cass what's up?"

"Oh hi sweetie!" The older woman sang from the other side of the phone. "I'm sorry to bother you when you're at school I was just wondering if you'd mind picking up something to remove paint on your way back?"

Tilting his head at the odd request he felt a small chuckle come to him before he answered.

"Sure thing. Did you spill paint on something?" He asked, hearing a small huff from her on the other side.

"I'm not that clumsy." She scolded. "No, it just seems that we've been 'tagged' and I would prefer not to have any of that kind of thing on my front window. I mean it's pretty but not very professional."

"Someone spray painted our window?" Tadashi asked, wondering why he couldn't stop a small bit of dread from creeping up his stomach. "What does it look like?"

"A lizard maybe?" She said, and he could just see her nose scrunching up in that way that she did whenever she was trying to describe something. "It has on odd thing on, what I think, is the tail and it's got this random looking pirate skull on it." She continued as the dark haired male bit down on his bottom lip.

"Is it a dragon?" He asked, flinching when she made a small 'ah' sound.

"Now that you mention it, that is kind of what it looks like." She snickered. "Young people and their mythical creatures." She giggled while Tadashi felt as if a lump had formed in his throat.

Why would Hiccup mark their place as his territory? What was the point of that? What was he planning on doing? Why would he mark it in such an obvious place? He must have known that his Aunt was going to come across it very quickly. Was this supposed to be some kind of warning? Did that mean that he really was mad?

"I'll be home in a bit Aunt Cass." He said interrupting her rant about the joys of youth.

"Oh you don't need to come home right now honey, you can wait until you're done doing your school project." She cooed before he heard her shuffling around the area. "I've got to get back to work though, the line is really starting to get long. Love you sweetie! Tell Hiro the same!"

She didn't seem to have time to wait for him to reply before the call had been ended and the line went silent. Slowly Tadashi brought the phone away from his ear and turned it off. Trying to act normal he licked at his suddenly dry lips while he slipped his phone back in his pocket.

"Everything okay?" Hiro asked, raising a brow as he stared a his brother skeptically.

"Ya," Tadashi said, pushing down the nausea that he was feeling in his stomach as he looked out over his group of close friends. Friends who he couldn't tell the truth to. "I have to head home though. Aunt Cass needs me to do something for her." He explained, glad that he now had an excuse that Honey wouldn't be able to link to some nonexistent love. "Hiro do you want to come or do you want to stay and I'll pick you up a little bit later?"

"I'll catch a ride home with Wasabi." Hiro said, jerking his thumb in the direction of the bigger male who looked over at him with a frown.

"What am I? Your personal taxi service?" He grumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Hiro only smirked at him from over his shoulder as he leaned back on his hands.

"You wouldn't refuse a friend in need would you?"

Wasabi's eyes only narrowed further before he pointed a finger at the boy.

"If you spill pop in my van again you're cleaning it up with a toothbrush."

"That is something I'd like to see." Gogo said as her lips twitched upwards in a smirk while Honey snickered.

"Ya ya." Hiro muttered, waving it off with his hand as he turned his attention back to his brother. "I'll be fine. You go do whatever."

For once in his life Tadashi didn't worry about Hiro staying behind without him. In fact he was somewhat happy that Hiro wouldn't be coming back with him. Hiro might have been safer here if Hiccup had his place marked.

Was Hiccup spreading out his territory though? Why? How was Tadashi only noticing this now? Why was he spreading so far out? Was he going to start harassing his Aunt? Was he going to start making her pay him in order to keep her store 'safe'? That didn't sound like Hiccup, then again Tadashi hadn't seen him in so long he had no idea what the boy was like now.

Oddly enough something in the back of his mind told him it wasn't what he thought it was.


	4. Chapter 4

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 4

_Tadashi couldn't stop his hands from shaking as he followed behind Fury with his head down. It didn't seem to matter how tightly he balled them into fists, they just wouldn't stop. With Fury not saying a word since they'd scrambled out of the area he didn't have anything to distract himself from it either. It was as if it was the only thing he could focus on to keep himself from going into a full fledged panic attack.

Clasping his hands together he blew a breath of air on them in vain, knowing that the shaking had nothing to do with the cold, but needing to do something.

The silence of the night only seemed to grow thicker and he felt like he was almost suffocating as he turned his gaze to stare at the back of the boy's head, watching as the color in his auburn hair seemed to shift in the dull lighting.

He could understand why Fury was pissed. He'd just blown a two month operation in seconds and they hadn't even managed to get even a scrap of what they had gone for. He just didn't know what to say. He had a feeling a simple, 'I'm sorry' wouldn't have done anything to ease the boy's anger, but he couldn't just say nothing either.

Gulping down the lump in his throat he could feel his palms growing as he quickly wiped the sweat away from his brow and licked at his dry lips.

"Fury." The name came out sounding weak, and he cursed himself for his lack of nerves.

Fury came to a sharp stop, so sudden that Tadashi nearly ran right into his back. His head was tilted slightly, his ear pointed more towards Tadashi to show that he was listening, but the tension in his shoulders didn't settle, just like Tadashi's stomach as he found himself clearing his throat.

"Fury look I'm ah, I didn't mean to screw tonight up so much I just..." He mumbled, his voice trailing off as his brow furrowed. How could he say sorry without saying sorry? "I didn't mean to ruin your plan it's just, I thought they were going to... I couldn't just..."

"Shut up."

It was the first word that the boy had uttered in over an hour. A low hiss that reminded him of a snake as the words he was stumbling over came to a stop and his whole form tensed.

"Fury I..."

"You honestly think I care?" Fury suddenly snapped, whirl around on the slightly taller male so fast that Tadashi jerked back a step in response. "You think I care that we didn't get what we were looking for?" Fury snarled, raising one of his arms to wave in the general direction of where they'd just come from. "You think I care that you screwed it up? Jesus fucking Christ Tadashi! You almost died!"

Tadashi felt his mouth slip open, the rare use of his name on the others tongue making his stomach twist in a new way while his heart pounded against his rib cage like it was trying to break out. The look across Fury's face though wasn't one of rage, his eyes were watering and his breath was coming in and out quick through his little round nose while his thin lips were pressed together. If Tadashi didn't know him any better he would have thought the boy was about ready to cry. But he'd known Fury for two years, the guy didn't cry over anything.

After a second though Fry turned away, his gaze dropping to the side as he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, a harsh sniff telling Tadashi that he was close to tears. -and it was because of him.

"Fury I..."

He didn't get to finish though, not before the boy nearly tackled him in a hug that was so tight Tadashi felt as if his ribs were being crushed.

His whole body froze, his hands hovering just around the boy as Hiccup's shoulders heaved in a sob. Tadashi felt at a loss of what to do as the brunets thin frame shook with each shuttering breath that he took and he could feel his heart in his mouth when Hiccup buried himself even closer, his face now pressed against the side of his neck.

"I-I'm sorry!" The boy hiccuped as Tadashi finally brought his arms down to wrap around him softly.

This was really the last thing that he was expecting to have happen, but he didn't pull away as he slowly started rocking them back and forth. Moving his hand up he gently ran his fingers through the boy's hair, untangling it softly as he went. He was glad that no one was around right now, the last thing that Fury needed was for someone to stumble upon him like this. Any sign of weakness out here might as well have been a death sentence.

The only thing that shocked Tadashi more then the fact that Fury even had a weakness at all, was that, apparently, it was him.

Fury didn't have a weakness for the young or the old. He didn't care about what state someone was in. He never caved regardless of someones shitty luck or if they were being forced to do whatever. He would rip them apart faster then anyone could blink, whether it would be verbal or physical Tadashi could never tell which one was worse to be on the receiving end of.

Yet here he was, clinging to Tadashi like a life line. He was sobbing in the middle of an alley, apparently not giving two shits about who might stumble upon them. All because Tadashi had been reckless and nearly gotten himself hurt, maybe even killed. If Fury hadn't tackled him out of the way...

Shuttering at the thought he could do nothing more then gently rest his forehead against the boy's bony shoulder and mutter soothingly to him.

After what felt like seconds, Hiccup pulled away and rubbed at his eyes and noes with his sleeve. His face was a mess, his eyes all red and puffy and his nose runny, but Tadashi couldn't help find it adorable as he allowed the boy to back out of his hold. He didn't like to see Hiccup so upset, but at the same time he felt honored that the, otherwise, ice cold teen had become that way because of him.

"You're a dumbass." Hiccup muttered out weakly, his voice a little rough sounding from the crying.

His statement didn't bother Tadashi at all, he could only chuckle at the other, earning himself a sharp glare from the boy before Hiccup turned away.

"You tell anyone about this and I'll kick your ass."

"Sounds fair." Tadashi said, unable to stop the grin from forming over his face as he brought himself up next to the boy.

Hiccup frowned at him, but Tadashi could see the smallest of smiles come to his face before the boy ducked his head and turned away slightly._

The mark was back. For the fifth day in a row he would spend a good hour cleaning it off only for it to be replaced. He wasn't even sure how they had managed to get the mark on the first time since his Aunt had been there and it had been rush hour. Someone should have seen it but apparently no one did.

Glaring at the mark that was sitting, freshly place probably only mere minutes ago, he didn't know what to think as he stood in the center of the empty store. The sun wasn't quiet up yet, but there was still enough light to be able to see the bright red of its tail and the white skull viking mark across it. His Aunt was starting to get a little bit suspicious as to why the mark kept returning no matter how many times they cleaned it off, and Tadashi could see that it was starting to unsettle her a little bit too. Every time the bell would chime to signal a customer coming in her head would whip towards the door as if she was expecting a bunch of thugs to come in and mess the place up. She'd thought it was cute at first, thinking it to be nothing more then some kids just playing around. With this level of persistent though he could see that she was starting to think it was something a lot darker then that.

He didn't even know if he could honestly tell her that everything was fine. The Hiccup he remembered like to play mind games and he had an amazing amount of patience. So much in fact Tadashi would have thought it to be inhuman. That being said though he also wasn't one to beat around the bush, normally aiming for the more blunt approach. If he wanted something from them he should have appeared by now.

Willing himself to calm down as he headed out the door for his normal run Tadashi locked the door right behind him before he started. He'd only bought a small portion of paint remover, he was going to have to pick up more later, especially if this was going to be a continuous thing.

Barely had he even made it around his first corner before he saw a baseball bat swinging for his face. His reaction was just seconds to slow as he felt it collide roughly with the top of his head, making his face snap to one side and his body crash into the hard wall next to him. With his vision spinning like a top Tadashi tried to claw at anything that he could to keep himself up. Sadly all he got for his efforts were scrapped fingers and a one way ticket to the ground.

He could make out people saying something to one another, but his mind couldn't put the letters together to form full sentences. When he felt someone grab at his shirt, turning him around and lifting him up roughly he tried to fight them back, but the blow to his head was really screwing him up and his hands barely made contact with them before another hit was landed to his jaw.

Groaning from the pain Tadashi felt like his head was being held under water and gasped when a hand covered with a cloth was held over his face.

It wasn't long after that his eyes rolled up and his vision went blank.

(***)

Tadashi jolted up when the icy water fell over him and some even slipping down his throat in his nose making him choke. As he pushed himself up on his hands and knees rough cough after rough cough forced its way passed his lips as he tried to get the water out of his system. His head still hurt and his vision still swam when he finally managed to force his eyes open, but he could still make out the cement underneath his fingers.

It was dirty, covered in dust, dirt and something he wasn't to sure he wanted to know about but that looked oddly enough like blood. He could feel the cold attacking his body, only then remembering that he'd only grabbed a thin t-shirt to run in today and he had rips in his jeans that exposed his knees to the sharp bite of the cement floor.

"Good morning!" The loud booming voice made his ears ring for a moment as he raised a hand to cover them.

Forcing himself to sit back on his heels Tadashi looked up at the man who had spoken to him. He couldn't say that he recognized the man from one glance, but after taking a longer look at him his eyes went a little wide.

It was Yama.

"I'm glad that you're up." The big man grinned, crossing his large arms over his even bigger stomach while he tilted his head back, making himself seem as if he was towering over everyone.

Tadashi glanced around the area he was in. He felt his stomach drop when he realized he was in some type of warehouse, surrounded by tons of goons. From a quick glance he was already counting thirty.

"You see your brother isn't as smart as he thinks he is." The man continued, drawing the boy's attention back. "I was only out there to blow off some steam," Yama continued, making his way slowly to Tadashi who was now pushing himself up on slightly shaky legs, "I was already in a bad mood, he didn't help to make it any better."

As he growled out the last words his one hand lashed out quicker then Tadashi would have thought for someone of his size, and clamped around his throat. "Cocky little brat gave me his name though. And look what I've found." He grinned, his smile twisted as the younger male choked on the small amount of air he was struggling to get.

"No one steals from Yama and gets away with it." He growled as Tadashi glared right back. "Let the kid know that what I'm going to do to you is going to pale in comparison of what's going to happen to him, and your Aunt."

Not listening to another word Tadashi shoved the palm of his hand out, smoking the man right on the nose. He didn't even flinch at the scream that tore from Yama, or from the loud cracking sound that seemed to echo in the sudden silence of the room. No one threatened his family and got away with it.

Yama let out a beastly sounding growl as he turned back to the panting male. His eyes were wild as one of his hands were pressed to his nose, doing nothing to stop the blood that was flowing from it.

"I guess sending back you body would be fine too." He spat, his tone doing nothing to intimidate the other.

"Just fucking try it." Tadashi hissed, his hands curling into fists as Yama huffed at him.

"Wow, looks like I got here just as things were getting interesting."

The voice seemed to have the same effect on the two men as they both froze, every muscle in their body tensing. Tadashi was the first to shake it off as he looked over his shoulder to see the one he'd been wondering about for nearly two weeks.

At least it seemed like Hiccup's need to make a flashy entrance hadn't die out.

Hiccup had a bored expression written across his face. One hand was in the pocket of a leather jacket that seemed as if it had seen better years, and his other hand was firmly wrapped around another man's throat. The man was forced to walk backwards, his body bent at an odd angle before Hiccup finally shoved him to the feet of the giant of a man.

"Yama, it's unpleasant to see you, as always." He said in his old deadpanned voice while Tadashi took a moment to take the boy in now that he was finally standing in one spot for more then a few mere seconds.

He was right when he'd thought that Hiccup's hair had grown longer, it had, and even had two little braids done in the side of it. His eyes were a little smaller, but they were still just as green and sharp as ever and Tadashi didn't miss the way that the boy was taking in everything around him, calculating and working his mind just as he always did. He was taller now though, pretty much the same height as Tadashi and not nearly as thin as before. Not that he was fat or anything, but he had defiantly put some muscle on his lanky frame. He didn't seem as awkward in his own skin anymore either and when he stopped merely a hand brush away from Tadashi the boy could feel his face getting hot already.

"You've grown." Tadashi found the words slipping from his mouth before he could stop them and was rewarded by Hiccup shooting a smirk at him.

"Just as observant as ever I see." He chuckled before his face lost all amusement and he turned his attention back to the man who now seemed to be steaming. "I would have thought that you would have been smarter then this."

At the boy's statement Yama raised his thick brows as he once again crossed his arms over his chest.

"What are you talking about? This guy's brother made a fool of me. I'm setting an example." He hissed as Hiccup mirrored his stance.

"You don't need anyone to help you make a fool of yourself, you do it just fine on your own." Hiccup said before his voice hardened. "And you have no right to make that call. Their home is under my territory."

His territory? Was that why he kept marking it? Had he just been trying to keep them safe? Choosing to ask his question at another time Tadashi sealed his mouth shut and waited to see what else was going to happen.

Yama on the other hand seemed as if this was new news to him, his head quickly snapping around to one of his men. Lifting a beefy finger up to them Tadashi watched as the people around the guy quickly moved out the space next to him.

"You." He snarled as he stormed over to the guy, the blood that was now covering the better half of his face making him look slightly demonic. "You didn't say anything about a mark."

"I-I-I d-din't see one." The guy stuttered out, trying to scramble back before Yama got to him.

He was to slow however and soon the big man had a hand clamped around his throat much like he had with Tadashi only minutes ago.

Tadashi didn't say anything in his defense. He didn't tell Yama that he had been removing the mark constantly and that maybe the guy had come by after it had been wiped off. He didn't tell him that it most likely wasn't his fault. He just kept his mouth shut, his expression blank as he watched Yama beat the man continuously.

Most people would have thought that Tadashi would have jumped in to help. His friends would have been horrified to see that he was just standing on the sidelines letting it happen. In his mind however he'd already marked this man under as an enemy. He didn't show mercy to his enemies.

Had Hiccup not come in when he did there was no doubt that Yama would have congratulated this guy and allowed him to do whatever he wanted with Tadashi's little brother and Aunt. That wasn't something Tadashi was willing to ever let slide.

After a few minutes of them watching in silence Yama finally straightened out. He was panting and the guy that was now on the floor was crying out in pain, trying to reach a hand out for anyone that would help him. No one did.

"It would be in your best interest," Hiccup said after a pause while Yama finished collecting himself, "that you left the Hamada family alone."

"Consider it dropped." The large man said, his head bowing as Hiccup simply gave the smallest of nods.

"Make sure all of your men know. I would hate for this to be a repeat process." The brunet muttered, as he turned to leave. "You know how much I hate dealing with tedious things."

Tadashi didn't miss the flash of rage and sadness that crossed over the man's face. He didn't comment on it though as he followed behind Hiccup, both of them walking through the men who parted a way for them.

They didn't say a word to each other, although Tadashi had an enormous amount of questions to ask, he felt as if he couldn't choose which one to ask first. That and he figured that maybe it would be better to ask Hiccup these questions once they were further away from this place.

When they stepped outside Tadashi found his eyes blinking in the sudden bright light that blinded him for a moment before he could blink the feeling away. Looking around he wasn't to surprised to see that they were at the docks, that seemed to be about the right place.

No sooner had they turned a corner though did Hiccup reach out and elbow him in the stomach.

"Ow! What was that for!?" He yelped, glaring over at the other and being greeted with a sharp snarl.

"For getting taken so easily." Hiccup snapped.

"They had a baseball bat! It came out of nowhere." Tadashi grumbled as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"No, you just got sloppy." Hiccup confirmed as he turned away from the other, his chin held high in the air in an overly snobby move.

"Unbelievable."

They walked a few more steps before Hiccup finally let out a long sigh and grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop. Tadashi allowed him to take his head in his hands, moving it this way and that as Hiccup looked his wounds over.

"Looks like they did get you good." He muttered, a frown pulling at his lips. "We might have to take you to the hospital."

"I'd prefer if you didn't." Tadashi said, wincing as calloused fingers were pressed against his head, feeling a lump he had against the side.

"If you want to die of a concussion that's your choice." Hiccup said dropping his hands and taking a step back, moving as if he was about to walk away.

"Wait." Tadashi said, reaching out his hand and snatching the boy's wrist. "I have a health care robot at my school. I could use that."

"Good for you." Hiccup said, his voice cold as his eyes darted this way and that.

"Night Fury." The use of his name drew the others attention to him, sharp eyes seeming to dare him to say it again. "I-I..." His own gaze fell to the side as he tried to think of what to ask.

What was he doing here? Why was he back? When did he get back? What happened to him in the last five years? What had he done? Was he still mad? Was he still the same?

"I'm sorry." He didn't know what he was apologizing for. Maybe for one thing, maybe for many. It could have been for not seeing him so long, it could have been for a number of things.

The apology threw Hiccup off though. His gaze softened, his brows drew together and his mouth opened as if he wanted to say something but couldn't come up with the words. After a moment he sighed, running his free hand through his hair before dropping it by his side. Pressing his lips tightly together he looked up into the dark eyed gaze of Tadashi and gave his shoulders a slight shrug.

"Me too."

Just those two words seemed to lift a large weight off of both of their shoulders, each of them seeming to breath easier as Tadashi felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. When Hiccup smiled back at him it just made it that much better as he let the brunet's wrist go, not fearing that he would bolt away anymore.

"You don't have to call me Night Fury you know." Hiccup chuckled moving himself in the direction Tadashi had been in order to get to Baymax.

"Oh no?" The slightly taller male asked, raising a single brow as he to started in the direction of his school. "Do you go by something different now? Your mark was the same so I just figured..."

"It's not that." Hiccup said, shaking his head with a small smile across his lips before he looked back up at Tadashi. "It's just, Night Fury is what people like Yama call me."

"I'm not like Yama?" Tadashi asked, almost pouting as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll have you know that I could have beaten him if you hadn't appeared."

At this Hiccup just laughed, rolling his eyes as he gently shoved Tadashi with his shoulder.

"That's not what I meant." He said before staring at the ground in front of him with a soft smile. "I don't see you as someone underneath me Tadashi." Hiccup said, the sound of his name on the boy's tongue after all of these years making his stomach flip violently the feeling only getting worse when Hiccup looked back up at him. "You can call me Hiccup."

The early morning light seemed to hit his face perfectly at that moment. Lighting up his face in such a way that Tadashi would have thought he was looking at an angel if not for the fact that he knew the boy had pretty much crawled out of the depths of hell. That didn't stop him from believing that the most perfect being was standing right before him though and he saved the picture in his head to hold on to as long as he could.

"I missed you."

Tadashi could feel his heart swelling when Hiccup bumped into his lightly, his hea resting against Tadashi's shoulder for long a moment before it was gone.

"I missed you too."


	5. Chapter 5

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 5

_"Okay what the hell was that all about?"

Tadashi ignored his friend as he marched over to the fridge and ripped it open. He could hear Fury letting out a scoff from behind him but he chose to ignore it as he snatched out a drink and quickly twisted the top off. Not wasting another second Tadashi brought it up to his lips and drowned half of it in one go.

They'd been friends for four years. He was use to going out and hanging around the different joints that they basically dominated. He was use to being so hammered it was hard to see straight. In fact that's how he'd been tonight, but he had never sobered up so fast.

He had no idea why, but he just lost it when he saw them together, when he saw him and her on the dance floor, tongues pretty much choking each other, bodies moving in a way that they shouldn't have been for people their age.

For years he'd been trying to figure out why he'd always felt sick and weird around Hiccup. Tonight he got his answer.

He was fucking attracted to him. He might even like him.

"Jesus, are you PMSing or something?" Fury sneered from behind him.

Tadashi slammed the door to the fridge shut so hard that he could hear the small amount of the things inside it rattle. Turning on his heels he glared at the one who was now only standing a few feet behind him.

"Fuck off Fury." He growled.

"That's rich coming from you." Fury snarled, yanking the bottle out of Tadashi's hands and drowning the rest.

This time Tadashi could understand why his stomach flipped as he watched the boy's adamsappel bob softly up and down. He could understand why his mouth had gone dry and his heart sped up. The realization of it made him sick.

"You've been acting like a dick for awhile now." Hiccup said, gasping slightly as he slammed the bottle down on the counter with such force it was amazing that it didn't break. "What's going on."

Normally Tadashi was sure that phrase was supposed to be a question. Coming from the boy now with that tone and that frown? It was anything but.

"Nothing."

It was bullshit. It was a huge load of bullshit, and he could see that Fury didn't believe his words for one second.

"Like hell it's nothing." The brunet said, giving the boy a hard shove into the very fridge he'd just been looking through.

"Hiccup piss off."

Using the boy's real name was a warning. One that they would use with each other if they were on the verge of snapping. Snapping was something Tadashi really, really didn't want to do right now. Snapping right now wouldn't lead to a punch or an overly aggressive sparing session. Snapping right now would lead to something much worse then that. The alcohol wasn't helping him out much either. Messing with his thoughts and crumbling his wall of restraint.

Hiccup didn't take the warning. He'd never really like getting them anyways, always seeing them as more of a challenge then anything. So of course his reaction was just to get even more up in Tadashi's face, bringing them barely a hairs length away.

"Make me."

Tadashi had one moment. One moment of staring at the boy, locking their gazes together in a show of power and defiance. One moment before he reached out and grabbed the back of Hiccup's neck and forced their lips together.

It was a little to brutal, a little to quick, but he could feel his stomach flip as he felt the muscles in the boy's neck under his hand tense. For a second he thought that he was going to be shoved away. He thought that Hiccup was going to pull back and just start wailing on him. It never came though, and his eyes went wide in shock when he even felt the other kiss back.

There was nothing special about it, or even really all that good for that matter considering that neither of them had much experience other then that girl Hiccup had been tonguing earlier, but Tadashi gave into it and wasted no time in wrapping his arm around the others thin waist, pulling him closer.

When they both broke apart Tadashi kept their foreheads together, both of their panted breath washing over the others face. The smell of alcohol was so thick and strong that the ebony haired male could have sworn he was getting a little bit drunker just from that alone.

"We don't tell anyone, or talk about this again." Fury muttered, eyes locking with Tadashi's as he nodded his head.

"Agreed."

It seemed to be the only confirmation either of them needed before they locked lips once more and lost themselves in each other for the night._

Tadashi felt his face burn as the memory randomly popped up into his mind. Why did that one of all the ones he had come to him at this moment was beyond him. It could have maybe been because of the fact that watching Hiccup eyeing Baymax in an adorably curious way reminded him of all of the adorable little habits that Hiccup had that no one else seemed to notice or ever even got to see.

Before he could get carried away with those thoughts though Tadashi got himself back under control. Hiccup had been serious when he'd said that they would never mention it again. He could remember that the very next morning the boy had gone back to acting as if nothing had ever happened. At the time Tadashi had been hurt, now that he was older though he understood. They had both been curious and drunk and filled with uncontrollable teenage hormones. It was nothing personal it was just them... exploring different things.

"It's a balloon."

Locking the thoughts away behind the tight steel doors of his mind Tadashi rolled his eyes at the over simplification of his project while Baymax finished spraying the cuts on his knees with peroxide. Eyes landing on the boy he wasn't surprised at all to see the the green orbs were glued on the robot like they had been since they'd first got in.

It was just to cute adorable to watch Hiccup study the robotic nurse while sucking on a lollipop, something Baymax had given to him as a reward when Tadashi had told him that Hiccup had been the one to help him.

He could basically see the gears in the brunet's head turning as he watched every single move that the AI made. He could almost hear the boy's thoughts spinning around his head as Hiccup broke down everything he'd worked on for months in only a few mere minutes.

As Baymax moved on to wrapping his knees however Tadashi decided that it was time to maybe talk about a few things. Clearing his throat did nothing to break the boy out of his thoughts while Hiccup pulled the sucker away from his mouth. His lips were moving soundlessly, muttering mindlessly everything that had been used to make the one he saw before him.

"Your territory?" Tadashi finally said, his voice doing the trick to grab the others attention.

Hiccup blinked himself out of his trance, turning to Tadashi as he popped the tiny treat back into his mouth.

"What did you mean by that?"

There was nothing but silence between them for a moment. Hiccup making no move to answer, his gaze never wavering as they were locked with the deep brown before him. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to bring it up, but Tadashi was curious to know what that had meant. His Aunt's shop was pretty far from where any type of gang activity went on. It wouldn't make any sense for Hiccup to mark his area as part of his territory.

"Yama said something about how he'd gone bot fighting against your brother to relive stress right?" Hiccup said eventually, his voice carrying an air of casualty while he moved the candy to his cheek so he could talk better. "His reason for being so stressed is because, for the last few months, I have been slowly moving into his area."

"Moving in?" Tadashi repeated, causing Hiccup to chuckle.

"Okay so more like forcing out." The brunet admitted, hopping up on Tadashi's desk and making himself comfortable.

"You're involved in gang work now?"

He couldn't say that he was really all that surprised. They had been heading in that direction even from a young age. Still, it wasn't something he'd really given that much thought to over the years.

Hiccup on the other hand just shrugged his shoulders lightly, looking away as the stick in his mouth pointed upwards.

"Not really no." He mumbled, his eyes darting around the clean area as the sun bled in through the window. "They just learned better then to bother me. Besides messing with my group is never any fun for anyone. So they pretty much avoid us all together."

Deciding not to ask who the 'us' were Tadashi shifted himself to allow Baymax to get his other knee.

"How did you know that he was coming after my family?"

At this Hiccup crunched down on the lollipop, crushing it with his teeth as a small smile came to his face.

"It's not hard to know what Yama's up to, he's not very discreet. Besides, I was there." Hiccup said, a smirk lighting up his face as he brought his foot up to rest against his knee. "Your brother's not a very good hustler by the way. He's way to obvious."

Tadashi could only nod his head in agreement, a small chuckle slipping passed his lips while his gaze dropped down to Baymax's hands that were still gently wrapping his knee. Not that it really needed to be wrapped, but there was no arguing with his project.

"He could be worst." He shrugged as Hiccup gave a sharp snicker, rocking himself back for a moment.

"Ya, he's really got nothing on you at that age." He said as Tadashi reached over and gave him a punch on his shoulder. "What?" Hiccup chuckled, bringing his hands up to defend himself. "I'm just being honest."

"If you are both finished." Baymax interrupted, drawing their attention back to him as he raised a hand. "I suggest getting rest and to avoid strenuous activities for the next few days."

"Aw," Tadashi pouted as he turned to face the brunet, "I guess that means we can't hangout."

"Oh, ha ha." Hiccup deadpanned.

Laughing lightly Tadashi turned back to Baymax and smiled at the robot who was staring at Hiccup. It looked like the inflatable nurse wanted to say something, like it was waiting to start working on Hiccup now and was just waiting for Tadashi to be finished with him. Shrugging it off Tadashi patted the robots soft stomach, getting the lenses back on him.

"Thanks buddy, I'm satisfied with my care."

"Should I help the other patient now?" Baymax asked, tilting his head with a small blink.

Hiccup seemed to stiffen for a moment. His hands gripped the edge of the desk so tightly that they turned white while his lips pressed into a flat line.

Had he gotten hurt when he went to help Tadashi? Had he hurt himself at some other point last night or last week or something? Was Hiccup sick? He didn't look very sick, but then again that was another thing of his that he was always good at hiding.

"Hiccup did you get hurt?" Tadashi asked, raising a brow at his friend.

"No." The other said, his voice sharp.

Tadashi was a little put off with the glare that was shot at him. He had no idea why the question would have bothered Hiccup this much, but he decided it wasn't his place to ask.

"No Baymax, we're fine."

"I will deactivate now." The robot said, nodding to them both before he turned around and made his way back to his charging station.

Tadashi didn't bother to watch Baymax though, instead his gaze was on his old friend. It looked like Hiccup was trying to burn a hole through his project. Like he was trying to blast it off the face of the earth for ever thinking that he could be hurt or was in need of help. Although sadly that didn't surprise Tadashi at all. He could never remember a time when Hiccup had asked for help, or even admitted to needing it.

"I should get going." Hiccup muttered as he hopped off of the desk.

"Oh."

He was shocked with how disappointed he sounded. Even Hiccup seemed a little surprised as his gaze softened while he sucked in his lips. He didn't take another step towards the door, but he didn't turn to face Tadashi either, just appearing content to be stuck between staying and going.

Getting down from his desk himself Tadashi only winched the slightest bit at the small throb that came from both of his knees.

"I- um, I was just thinking that maybe you would stick around for a bit longer." He admitted, bringing his hand up to rub at the back of his head.

Hiccup let out a weak sounding chuckle, his own arms coming up to cross over his chest. He shifted this way and that on his feet for a second, his eyes darting around the room before they turned outside, scanning over the school grounds carefully.

"I've um, I've been thinking about you a lot for the last few weeks." Tadashi said, drawing the green orbs back to him. "I was kind of hoping that you'd appear at some point."

"Didn't think to look for me?" Hiccup asked, raising a brow as Tadashi just gave him a pointed stare.

"Would you have let me find you?"

Hiccup clicked his tongue, turning away again as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

"So then here we are." The brunet muttered, as the silence around them seemed to press in on them both.

Pressing his lips together Tadashi wonder what he could do to make the other stay, or at the very least to give him hope that he would be able to see him again. They had missed each other sure, but they both knew that a lot had changed between them. Not only that but maybe this was Tadashi's chance to back out of this life for good. Maybe if he could just let Hiccup go now he would never have to worry about slipping back in. He wouldn't have to worry about destroying everything that he had built up.

One look at Hiccup though and he knew that he could never do it. He'd spent years without him, he couldn't go on knowing the guy was here and he'd never be able to see him.

"Could I have your cell number?"

He blurted the words out quickly. Whether that was to keep himself from backing out on asking or that he was actually nervous he didn't know, but he couldn't say he cared all the much either. The only reaction he got from the brunet was a raised brow, but eventually a small smile came to his face as he fished his phone out of his pocket.

Quickly following his lead Tadashi fumbled to pull out his own phone, slightly amazed that it had managed to stay in his pocket this morning at all before handing it to the other as he took the palm sized black phone of Hiccup's.

They didn't say anything as they typed their numbers into each others phones. It was as it they didn't want to break some sort of unspoken oath or something. Tadashi really couldn't tell why but he also didn't want to mess this up. Handing he boy's phone back he gratefully took his back, unable to help the large smile that was across his lips.

"Give me a text whenever your life gets boring." Hiccup said, glancing around the room once more before his eyes landed back on Tadashi. "I'm not expecting to be waiting to long."

"Hey." Tadashi chuckled, giving him a playful shove against his shoulder. "I'd be more offended if it wasn't true."

Hiccup eyes seemed to light up then, filling with the mischief that Tadashi could remember only all to well. Whenever he got that look on his face it never lead to anything good.

"I'm free tonight." He said suddenly a smirk coming to his face as he shifted over to one foot. "You have got to see what I've been working on lately. It's so much better then your bubble bot."

Ignoring the insult about his project Tadashi pretended to think about it for a moment. His mind was already made up of course, there was no way he was going to miss spending any time with Hiccup, but he dragged it on anyways. Whatever it was that Hiccup wanted to show him though he had no doubt that it would be amazing. After all Hiccup had been the one who got him into building robots in the first place. He'd always been making this or that in order to help them with their schemes, Tadashi was just dying to know what he'd been building since then.

"I don't know, it is the weekend and I have a lot of homework." He tasked.

The brunet rolled his eyes, wasting no time before he wrapped his arm around the others neck and caught him in a light choke hold.

"Aw come on you nerd! I know you're just dying to go out and have some fun for once!" Hiccup said while Tadashi couldn't help but laugh, struggling in the others grip.

"Alright! Alright! Fine! I'll go!"

With his surrender Hiccup let him go, a wide triumphant grin over his face as he smugly crossed his arms over his chest.

"Good. I'll kidnap you at the train station on Ryuu street at nine tonight then."

"Kidnap?" Tadashi repeated as he straightened himself out. "Don't you mean pick up?"

"It's the same thing." Hiccup assured with a wave of his hand. "Ones just more fun to say."

"Okay whatever." The Asian male chuckled with a light roll of his eyes.

Sharing a smile together Hiccup just waved to him as he exited the lab without another word, leaving Tadashi to stand in the room alone.

Unable to wipe the smile from his face he glanced down at his phone to check out the number. He felt his breath catch in his throat when he looked down to see the boy's name written in his phone.

Hiccup Haddock 3

Was he just being funny or did that mean something?

Looking through the doors where the other had slipped out through Tadashi knew that there was no point in trying to find him now. He would have already disappeared by this point. Glancing back down at the number and name he couldn't stop the small smile from coming to his face as he pocketed the device once more.


	6. Chapter 6

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 6

"Tadashi! What happened to you!?"

Those weren't really the first words he was expecting to hear from his Aunt when he walked in the store, but he guessed she couldn't be blamed. He had managed to get a look at himself in a mirror quickly before he'd gotten home and he was sure that the two nasty bruises that took up most of the left side of his face were the reasons why people had also been shooting him funny looks this morning.

Seeing his Aunt now however, Tadashi couldn't help but glance at the clock. He'd really spent a longer time with Hiccup then he'd thought if she was already up and the store was just opening. Still, she was standing there, her mouth hung open and her eyes wide as she stared at him, waiting for his answer.

"Um, I was kind of tired when I went for a run this morning and there was some construction going on that I didn't notice. I ran right into one of the pipes that they were using." He said as he gave her a small smile. "I got Baymax to look me over though so don't worry."

Her brows pulled together, as if she was wondering how a pipe would have been able to leave that kind of mark behind, but she had no reason to believe that he would lie to her either. It felt terrible lying to her, especially since it was all to easy to come up with something like that, but he couldn't tell her that Hiccup was back. She'd never really taken kindly to him, for reasons that Tadashi could understand completely, but Hiccup wasn't just what people seemed to think he was.

"Oh, well be careful next time okay?" She said as she brushed some of the hair behind her ear before walking up to him. "I don't like when you get hurt." She said softly, bringing her hand up to gently touch the marks on his face.

"I know Aunt Cass. I'm sorry, I'll be more careful okay?" He chuckled as he took a hold of her hand loosely and removed it.

"Good. Having to worry about Hiro is a full time job enough." She sighed, throwing her hands up in the air. "Now get going upstairs. I didn't have time to make you some breakfast this morning but there should be some cereal."

"Alright, thanks Aunt Cass." Tadashi said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll be down to help with the lunch rush later okay?"

She nodded her head, showing that she heard him as she continued to putter around the area, finishing setting up for the day. He chuckled once more before he turned towards the stairs and headed up. Once he was in his room he wasn't at all shocked to see that Hiro was still in bed, although that didn't stop the sight from bringing a smile to his face.

Feeling a buzz from his phone Tadashi tore his gaze away from his little brother as he quickly made it to his side of the room. Taking it out of his pocket he grinned as he saw that the message was from Hiccup. He hadn't really been expecting to get a call so soon but he wasn't complaining as he swiped to open it and took a look to see what he had to say.

I almost forgot! You're going to want to bring a helmet for tonight. If you don't have one you can just use mine.

A helmet? Tadashi raised a brow as he felt the corners of his lips twitch upwards. He couldn't imagine just what Hiccup had to show him that involved a helmet.

No I've got one. I drive a moped after all.

He sent the message back quickly and then dropped his phone on the bed carefully. Looking around the small portion that made up his room Tadashi snatched up a pair of jeans, a black t shirt, underwear and a towel before scooping his phone back up when it went off again.

God I'm going to have to burn my eyes out with acid to remove that image. DX

Smirking down at his phone he stopped when he was only a few feet away from the door to the bathroom as he wrote back.

You're not cool enough to be DareDevil. XP

Unable to help the smile on his face he got into the bathroom and softly closed the door so he wouldn't wake up his baby brother. Placing his stuff down he walked over to the shower and turned it on, quickly stripping down as he hummed softly to himself.

When his phone went off again he didn't waste anytime in making his way back over and snatching it up again.

My level of coolness would give you frostbite. :P

Rolling his eyes Tadashi smirked down at his device. Seriously? Just as his fingers were hovering over the keypad though another message popped up.

I've gotta head to bed. Having to save your ass this morning really cut into my sleep. Xp Haven't even gotten more then an hour so far. DX

Oh ya, Hiccup was a night person. Tadashi had no idea why that thought hadn't come across his mind until now but now that it had he couldn't help but feel a little bit special. Even though Hiccup had barely gotten any sleep and had no doubt been sleeping before he found out he'd still come to help the ebony haired male and had even stuck with him until he was looked over. That was oddly sweet.

I think you're going soft. Have a good sleep though. :)

Placing his phone down for the last time Tadashi looked up in the mirror. Seeing his mark now he didn't shutter at it as he once had just a few weeks ago. Instead he found that his smile was only growing bigger as he traced the outline softly before he moved away and ducked into the shower.

(***)

"What on earth happened to you!"

Okay, well two down, only four more to go.

"I wasn't paying attention when I was running." Tadashi said, ruffling Hiro's hair as he walked by his seat at the breakfast table. "I ran into some construction equipment." He continued, grabbing out a bowl and some cereal.

"Where are they doing construction?" Hiro asked, his voice borderline skeptic.

When Tadashi looked over his shoulder at his little brother what he saw was a narrowed gaze and tightly crossed arms. Obviously Hiro wasn't as willing to accept his story as Aunt Cass was, and Tadashi guessed that was fair. He had been acting a little off for the passed week or two, and Hiro wasn't stupid by any form of the word. Really he hadn't thought of a better lie then that though, he hadn't thought that he would need one.

"Just around." Tadashi said, grabbing the milk from the fridge after pouring a fair amount of cereal in the bowl. "I can't really remember where to be honest. I was trying to switch up my route. Guess that wasn't the smartest idea." He chuckled, putting everything back before he moved to the table.

His lie didn't seem to help him much, Hiro still looked as if he wasn't buying a word of it. Tadashi had never lied to him before though so he really had no reason to think this was one either. It didn't make Tadashi feel any better though, knowing that he was lying straight to Hiro's face, but he couldn't really tell him the truth either. He had a feeling that telling his little brother that he'd run into an old friend that he use to do all sort of wild, illegal things with in his pasted because Hiro had pissed off some guy that had been after them since he was pissed about losing his territory to Hiccup in a weird sort of way, wasn't really something he wanted to talk about, or even really let Hiro know.

So he stayed quiet. He just gave his brother a sincere smile, and continued to eat his breakfast as if nothing was wrong or had changed. He knew it was wrong to lie to his family, he knew it was wrong that he was already thinking of lying to his friends, but there was no way that he was going to let them know about Hiccup. He could already imagine all of the stuff that they would have to say about him, he already knew about how they would question him relentlessly about this and that. Both he and Hiccup didn't do well with being interrogated.

No. It was best to keep his two lives as separate as he could. Besides, he was only going to be hanging out with Hiccup a little bit. There was no need for them to know. It's not like he was going to be going out all hours of the night again, his grades weren't going to suffer or anything. Hiccup would just kind of be like his dirty little secret.

Tadashi couldn't stop the grimace from coming to his face as the thought crossed his mind. Hiccup wasn't like that. He wasn't bad. He shouldn't have to be needed to be kept as a secret. Looking over to his little brother though he forced the smile back on his face as Hiro raised a brow at him.

"Sorry, it just tastes a little funny." He grinned.

He couldn't tell Hiro. As much as it killed him to treat everyone this way, his friends, his family, and Hiccup, it was going to have to be done.

Hiro narrowed his eyes at his brother, looking down at his own bowl before the dark brown orbs moved over to Tadashi's.

"I thought it tasted fine."

(***)

Okay he really hadn't thought this through all that much. Holding his helmet in his hands Tadashi just stared down at it as if it was a strange device from a sifi film that he just didn't understand. How was he suppose to tell his Aunt and his brother that he was going out? And where was he going to tell them that he was going?

He couldn't say that he was with one of his friends, Hiro had already become extremely suspicious as the day had worn on and if Tadashi mentioned them he sadly wouldn't put it passed his little brother to ask whoever he chose as a cover for answers. He couldn't say that he was going out to a club or anything either since that would also be out of place.

If he mentioned that he wanted to work at the school or something though then Hiro would no doubt ask to join him. There was no way he was going to sneak out though...

Letting out a long sigh Tadashi dropped his chin to his chest for a moment, wondering just why he was trying to over think this. He could just say he wanted to go for a short ride. Clear his head a little bit, maybe ride around town to gather some inspiration. If he was going to lie there was no point in making the lie bigger then it had to be.

Admitting to himself that he was making plans to deceive the ones he cared for and loved most made his stomach twist unpleasantly.

Taking in a deep breath Tadashi pushed himself up from his bed and tucked his helmet under his arm. Heading down the stairs quickly he wasn't to shocked to see his Aunt had already settled down from the busy night and was watching one of her favorite horror movies with Mochi.

Chuckling softly at the familiar sight Tadashi slowly walked up to her. Placing his hand on the armrest he leaned forward enough to be able to be seen without freaking her out to much.

"Hey Aunt Cass." He said, earning himself a light whack against his chest as she took another bite of one of the pastries that she'd swiped from the cafe.

"You're ruining the good part." She scowled playfully, pulling another chuckle from him.

"Sorry." He apologized before nodding his head towards the stairs that lead to the bottom floor. "I was just going to tell you that I'm going to take a quick ride okay?"

Finally pulling her eyes away from the movie Cass looked at him, one of her brows raising as she did so.

"Isn't it a little bit late?" She asked.

Tadashi just forced out an awkward sounding laugh, straightening himself out as his hand came up to rub at the back of his head.

"Ya, I was doing some studying and lost track of time but I just really want to go out and get a breath of fresh air. I'm hoping it will help to straighten and categorize the information that I took in."

At his well placed lie her brows lowered as a soft smile came to her face and she gave him a shallow nod.

"Alright then. Don't stay out to long though and be safe." She warned.

Leaning down Tadashi gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, allowing her to go back to her movie.

"Thanks Aunt Cass. I'll be back later."

"You're going out?"

Turning around Tadashi saw Hiro standing at the top of the first flight of stairs. He was obviously just coming up from the lab, some of the grease from whatever he'd been working on was still smudged across his face, his shirt, and his hands. Giving his brother a smile Tadashi nodded his head.

"Ya, just for a little bit, I'll be back soon I'm sure."

"Where are you going?" Hiro asked, using the bottom of his shirt to try and wipe his hands clean.

"Just out for a little bit of a drive on my moped, you know, get some air." Tadashi explained simply as he walked up to the shorter male. Reaching out he gently ruffled Hiro's hair, making the boy give him a bit of a swat. "Don't forget to take a shower bonehead."

Moving passed the boy Tadashi made his way down the stairs without any further question from anyone else. He could see in Hiro's eyes before he had passed though that he didn't quiet believe his brother, and he could feel the burn of the dark orbs on his back until he disappeared out the doors.

(***)

Now Tadashi wouldn't admit that he may have screamed like a little girl when Hiccup popped up from behind him out of nowhere, but he would admit to jumping a few good feet when the boy had yelled in his ear. Glaring at the brunet who was doubled over in laughter now, he kind of regretted not socking him in the nose when he had the chance. Being that as it may he allowed Hiccup to get himself back under control as he raised a brow at the other while Hiccup straightened himself out.

"Feel better now?" He muttered darkly, earning himself a twisted smirk as Hiccup shifted his weight over to one leg.

"You have no idea. Totally makes up for you interrupting my sleep earlier." He said as he turned on his heels and started walking.

Tadashi didn't bother to ask where he was going, he just picked up his pace and followed after the other. He didn't worry about his moped, he knew that there were some people hanging out in the shadows around the area and that they were going to be there for a majority of the night. He highly doubted that they would be willing to mess with someone who was on casual standing with the Night Fury.

He couldn't help but sigh at the fact that their fear and respect was only for Hiccup. That he had to depend on Hiccup for that. He remembered when people would walk on the other side of the street and pay for his drinks. Then again he guessed that he couldn't be all that surprised. He'd disappeared around the same time as Hiccup and he'd made no come back. Really he shouldn't have felt as upset about it as he was, after all that wasn't a life that he wanted any more.

"Stop thinking so hard." Hiccup muttered, interrupting his thoughts.

Shoving his hands into his pockets Tadashi gave his shoulders a light shrug while he allowed them to relax for once.

"I thought you were supposed to be helping me with that." Tadashi said, unable to help the small smirk from sliding over his lips.

"Oh and I will." Hiccup said, a nearly twisted grin coming to his face again. "Just you wait until you see what I've made, it's gonna be so much more intense then you bubble bot."

"It's a nursing robot if anything." Tadashi chuckled, not taking offense to the jab at all.

"Glorified vinyl air holder." Hiccup scoffed with a wave of his hand.

Rolling his eyes the darker haired male chose not to comment on it. He clearly remembered getting into playful spats with Hiccup before. The thing that he couldn't remember was ever getting close to winning any of them.

"What have you been doing with your night so far?" Tadashi asked as they turned a corner and headed even deeper into the 'mean streets'.

Hiccup was silent for a moment, almost like he was debating on what to tell Tadashi and what to leave out. After a few more seconds he tilted his head to look at the other, a nearly dangerous smirk twisting his face.

"I think it would be best if you didn't know."

Raising a brow at him Tadashi gave him a light nudge with his elbow.

"You know I might dress like a prim and proper nerd, but I'm still the guy you use to know."

At this Hiccup came to a slow stop, looking him up and down, his face carefully blank.

"Are you?"

There was a certain look in the boy's eyes. A certain kind of light in them that unnerved Tadashi just as much as it stirred an excitement in him. He couldn't really put his finger on what it was but he knew it was something.

Before he could ponder on it much longer Hiccup turned away and continued on his walk.

"When I see it I'll let you know."

"You're a dick." Tadashi scoffed with a small shake of his head.

"Thought you liked those."

The words passed by his lips in merely a whisper but they made Tadashi stumble anyways as if they had been yelled right in his ears. He opened his mouth to make a quick resort but when he saw the wide smile on the brunet's face he gave him a hard glare, his face lighting up bright red. The asshole was just poking fun at him.

Giving him a pointed look Tadashi gave him a whack on the back of his head quicker then Hiccup could blink.

"Ow!" Hiccup yelped, a smile over his lips to show that it hadn't really caused to much pain. "Alright I'll lay off." He chuckled, raising his hands to shield himself from further attacks.

When Tadashi did nothing other then glare at him for a few more seconds and then lowered his hand Hiccup dropped his own arms and placed them into the pocket of his jacket. Their walk was quiet for only a few more steps until Hiccup puffed up his cheeks and made a small popping sound.

"In all honesty though, you seeing anyone?"

"No." Tadashi said shaking his head once more. "No ones ever really caught my eye." He admitted. "Besides, I've been really busy with school and looking after my little brother. Haven't had much time for that kind of thing."

"Hm."

That seemed to be all Hiccup had to say on the topic as he took a sudden sharp turn into a building that was missing its front door. Walking in after him Tadashi followed the other up a long flight of stairs. Occasionally he had to jump a few feet do to some of the missing steps, and once even nearly falling through the floor when some of the boards under his feet gave away. Thankfully Hiccup had grabbed a hold of his arm and yanked him back on to solid ground not even seconds after hearing the snap.

When they finally got to the top, what Tadashi was assuming was the twenty third floor, he'd forgotten to count after him and Hiccup had started joking around, he felt his excitement grow for whatever Hiccup could be showing him. His heart rate was jumping up and he could feel his palms start to sweat at the wonder that Hiccup had created and was willing to show him.

When they reached a door, the only thing in the entire building that looked secure and actually had quiet a few locks and chains around it, Hiccup came to a complete stop. Tadashi didn't say anything as he stood in front of the door. He didn't know why but Hiccup had seemed to tense and froze where he was. Briefly Tadashi wondered if maybe Hiccup was rethinking about the idea of showing him what it was but after a moment Hiccup turned around and ran a hand through his hair. He wouldn't raise his bright green orbs up to look at Tadashi, they seemed more interested in looking at something to the side as his lips pressed together in a flat line.

"You can't tell anybody about this okay?" He muttered, his gaze finally snapping up to capture Tadashi's.

He could feel his brows furrow together in confusion for a moment before his shoulders lifted in another light shrug.

"When have I ever?" He asked, shifting his weight over to one foot and sliding his hands in his pockets.

At his statement Hiccup seemed to relax, his shoulder's dropping and a soft smile coming to his lips.

"Okay well then, prepare to be awestruck my friend." Hiccup grinned as he turned back around and started to work on the locks.

Taking a few steps closer until he was hovering over the boy's shoulder Tadashi couldn't wait for the door to be opened and find out what was behind it. He couldn't help but wonder if it really was as cool and advance as Baymax. Although if he was going to be completely honest, which didn't seem to be his strong suit lately considering the circumstances, he couldn't think about anything that Hiccup would be able to make when he didn't seem to have very much money in order to build anything. Tadashi had the school help him out for a lot of the stuff that he needed for Baymax, he couldn't imagine how hard it would be for Hiccup to find the rare pieces of equipment he might need to make something better.

"Alright," Hiccup said as the chains fell to the floor and he took a step away from the door, "here ya go."

As the door was thrown open Tadashi felt his jaw drop open and his eyes go wide at the sight before him.

"You have got to be kidding me."

The only response Hiccup gave him was a nearly evil laugh as he pushed the other into the room.


	7. Chapter 7

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 7

_Tadashi didn't know what to say as he took in the sight before him. Oddly enough one of the first things that he wanted to do was to scream, and most people probably would have. He was pretty sure that he was in a little to much shock however and that even if he wanted to not one sound would be able to make it passed his lips. So instead he just stood there, his eyes so wide that they were nearly falling out of his head and his mouth just about hitting the floor.

What was standing before him was a dragon.

While he was sure it was something that Hiccup had created, the thing looked so real. Its chest was even moving in a rhythmic motion in order to copy breathing and it's unholy green eyes would even blink as it took in Tadashi the same way that he took in it.

Eyes running over the entirety of the creature he felt his gaze snap back to Hiccup when he heard the boy chuckle.

"Explain."

It was more of a command then a suggestion, but for once Hiccup didn't seem to mind that fact as he turned his gaze towards the dragon thing that was standing up and stretching out.

"Tadashi this is Toothless. Toothless this is Tadashi." Hiccup said, holding out both of his arms to the 'dragon' and then moving them over to Tadashi as he spoke. "I've been working on this guy for about two years." Hiccup said, moving his arms to cross over his chest, a giant smile coming over his lips, before he turned his body to face Tadashi. "You're the first person to ever really see him. I mean I've used him before but no ones ever actually seen him."

Tadashi just stood there, completely dumbstruck as he watched the beast move around like a real animal. Everything about this creation was just so... perfect. The way that it moved was so seamless, he couldn't even tell that it probably had thousands of moving parts on the inside that made it work that way. Its head was even tilting to the side and its eyes were taking him in almost as if it was assessing him. Briefly Tadashi wondered if it also had scanners in it like Baymax did.

"You built this?" He muttered, not able to tare his eyes away from the creature, noticing that even its nostrils were moving as if it really was breathing.

"Yup." Hiccup said as he walked up to it, bring his hand up to the side and pressing on a few scales.

Tadashi found that his feet moved on their own when Hiccup lowered a panel on the beasts side to show all of the inner workings.

"Took forever to get everything right and all of the parts that I needed but I finally managed. He's been complete for about three months or so roughly." Hiccup said, sticking his hands on the inside and tightening up a few screws here and there.

Tadashi on the other hand didn't know what to say as he peered into the dragons inner workings. There were so many things going on inside that he didn't even know where to start first. His eyes darted this way and that, greedily observing everything that he was being shown as his fingers twitched at his sides. He wanted nothing more then to be able to just stick his fingers in there and start tinkering away and playing with everything, finding out what it all did and what not, but he held himself back.

Hiccup had said that he was the first person to be shown this. He didn't want to do anything that might upset the boy and he had a feeling that if he started poking around in the boy's creation his actions might not be so appreciated.

His eyes didn't get to take in nearly as much as he wanted before Hiccup snapped the door shut and shot him a smirk.

"Trust me, that's not the best part." He grinned his eyes holding a spark that Tadashi hadn't realized how much he missed seeing until he was staring at the boy.

Wondering what he could have meant Tadashi reached out and gently trailed his fingers over the back of Toothless.

He was a little shocked when his fingertips were met with a rough, thick kind of material before he flattened his hand out and gently pressed it down. He could feel, just by that, how hot the creature was. Warm to the touch and almost seeming to pulse with it.

"Inside of him are heat retaining areas." Hiccup explained as he brushed his hand over the dragon's head. "He can fire up to six plasma shots, but the material needs to be kept warm at all times. I needed to block it off from the rest of him though to make sure that it didn't fry any of the wiring so I moved it to his upper hide. Thankfully it doesn't overheat any and it's actually kind of comforting on cold night flights." Hiccup explained as Tadashi snapped his head around to face him.

"It flies?"

"Well in a sense. I guess it's more of a glide then anything. You see the wings?" Hiccup asked as he pointed out to them while Tadashi's attention turned towards them. "Well the wings themselves aren't strong enough to lift him off the ground like a bird or anything, and they definitely couldn't do it with anyone on his back. So what I did instead was place a type of jet engine in his feet. It helps to get him up higher and move faster and then he just uses his wings to glide and get around. If I want him to go higher I just turn on the jet engine but other then that his wings themselves have no power to actually keep him in the air."

"Still working on that then?" Tadashi asked, earning himself a head nod.

"Nothings ever perfect. It's just an endless battle of upgrades." Hiccup sighed before his smile was back. "But what do you think? You ready?"

Tadashi couldn't help the little drop of his stomach at the others words. He felt like nothing good was going to come out of whatever Hiccup had to say next.

"Ready for what?"

"To fly on Toothless." Hiccup grinned, his face alight in child like excitement. "I've never tried it with two people before and I want to see if it works!" He said as he quickly jumped on to the creatures back.

"Um..." Tadashi on the other hand wasn't sure he was prepared to be a lab rat. Especially not from the twenty somethingth floor. "I don't know."

"What? You afraid?" Hiccup sneered, a taunting smirk pulling at his lips while Tadashi's own gaze narrowed at him.

"I never said..."

"Then come on." Hiccup interrupted as Toothless gave Tadashi a whack with his tail. "The nights not going to get any longer bud."

Sighing Tadashi hoisted himself up and made himself comfortable sitting behind the other. Looking around for a moment he felt his lips pinch together when he realized he couldn't find any handles.

"Hey, what do I hold on too? I can't find any handles back here or anything." He said as he caught Hiccup's attention by poking his shoulder.

"That's because there are none." Hiccup answered, his lips twisted in the most twisted evil smile ever as Toothless made his way over to the large hole in the wall that he obviously used to get in and out of.

Tadashi didn't pay that much mind though as his mouth fell open while his heart hammered against his chest.

"What! Then what the hell am I supposed to hold on to!?" He screeched as Hiccup shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, me I guess. But you better do it soon."

Tadashi could feel his stomach drop as Toothless jumped out of the window and they were falling into the air. Finally deciding now as the appropriate time to scream he reached out and clung to Hiccup like a life line while the evil little shit threw his head back in laughter as they continued falling towards the earth._

"You don't wash the mark away anymore."

Tadashi looked up from his eggs, breaking out of his thoughts as he stared at his little brother from across the table. Hiro gaze was a little bit narrowed, but Tadashi had a feeling that his less then happy look wasn't all about him. Hiro just hated to get up early for school, the narrowed eyes and tight smile were apart of his charming morning routine. Oddly enough however Tadashi found it to be a little bit more...pointed today.

He couldn't really blame Hiro for being all that mad though, he'd spent all of yesterday out with Hiccup until very early this morning and he was kind of tired. Still he hadn't seen his baby brother much on the weekend and he was sure that, that wasn't something either Hiro or his Aunt were very use to. It made sense if Hiro was a little peeved that he was being blown off.

Bring up the mark though...

How was he supposed to explain that the reason that he was leaving it on now was to keep them safe from people who Hiro had pissed off in the past? How was he supposed to explain that he kind of liked the tag symbol now since it felt kind of like belonging to Hiccup in a weird sense of the way?

Giving his little brother a small smile he just tilted his head to the side just the slightest while scooping up a little bit more eggs.

"I decided that it wasn't worth the fight any more." He said, earning himself a raised brow from his brother. "At least right now." He added in quickly. "If we just leave it for a little bit maybe they'll grow bored and ignore it when I take it off again."

"Hn."

Tadashi didn't think that was a very positive response, but then again Hiro wasn't much of a morning person. The fact that he had opened his mouth at all to talk to Tadashi this morning was a feat in itself.

That wasn't to bad of a lie either. It was somewhat true. He really didn't think it was worth the fight anymore, no one every really won against Hiccup when he set out to do something. He was getting better at lying though. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

When his phone went off just a few mere moments later, he nearly choked on the scoop of eggs that he'd just placed in his mouth. Pressing a hand to his mouth his shoulders heaved as he let out a few coughs, hoping to get what had falling into his throat out. The last thing he wanted was for there to be an early funeral for him for choking.

'Here lies Tadashi; he never learned to chew his food'.

Shuttering at the idea of the gravestone Tadashi ignored his brother's lazy questioning look as he fished his phone out of his pocket.

Having a good morning?

Even as he continued to choke and his shoulders still shook, Tadashi couldn't help the small smile that came to his face as he slowly shook his head. Getting his coughing under control he barely missed a beat before he texted back.

Would be enjoying it more if you weren't trying to kill me. DX

"Who are you talking to?" Hiro asked, the second that Tadashi had hit 'send'.

"Just a friend from school." Tadashi said without missing a beat.

"Which one?" Hiro asked again, dropping his head to rest heavily against the palm of his hand.

Smiling at his little brother Tadashi couldn't help the small fluttering in his stomach from receiving a message from Hiccup this morning.

"No one you would know knucklehead." He said.

That was probably the truest thing he had said to Hiro all week. Even with knowing that though Tadashi couldn't bring it in himself to really ponder on it much as his phone went off again.

Wow really? And how did I manage that tucked away in my bed all the way out here? I guess I'm more talented then I thought.

Chuckling lowly to himself at the message Tadashi quickly wrote one back, his breakfast all but forgotten at this point.

When my phone went off I nearly choked on the eggs. XP Shouldn't you be sleeping though? Why are you sending messages right now?

He really as actually curious. They had spent nearly all night last night hanging out together, and the night before that as well. He could only imagine how tired Hiccup was. Tadashi was use to having these kind of nights no thanks to school work and the like, but surely Hiccup must have been use to getting long hours of uninterrupted sleep. Something he was cutting into the time of by sending Tadashi texts.

Not to soon after his phone went off again, drawing his attention back down towards the little screen although he wasn't quiet sure when he looked away.

Wanted to see how your morning was going.

Tadashi read the message. Then he read it again and again and again. He felt like his brain had stopped working. For how smart he was he felt like his mind had fried and that he couldn't even think of a simple two word response to what Hiccup had sent. He didn't know how he should take that, but for some reason he could feel his cheeks heat up all the same.

If he made a joke out of the message he had a feeling that it would set something back, but what that was he didn't know and he couldn't think of any other way to responded. If he was going to be honest about it he didn't want to freak Hiccup out or anything by saying how sweet that was. If he didn't say anything though and just wrote it off he had a feeling that, that would be just as bad if not worse than any of his other options.

Maybe he was just over thinking this though, maybe he was just making it more complicated then it had to be.

Letting out a deep breath he didn't know he was holding and swallowing passed the lump that had formed in his throat at some point, Tadashi wrote back.

That's oddly nice of you. Thanks Hiccup. :) My mornings been pretty good so far but soon I'll have to leave for class and that can become kind of boring. What about you? How's your morning going?

Quickly hitting the send button before he could chicken out Tadashi placed his phone down. They never really had conversations like this over text, and most of the time they kept it pretty playful when they were hanging out too. Nothing other then quick jabs and sharp tongues. It felt a little weird to be asking more personal questions even if Hiccup did know him best. It was just odd for Hiccup to show any kind of softness regardless of what it was. The guy didn't do personal very well.

Looking up from his phone to his plate of food Tadashi didn't feel like finishing it so much any more. Picking the plate up he walked over to the counter and dumped the eggs out in the garbage before placing his dish in the sink. When he heard his phone go off again he almost couldn't stop himself from spinning around and jumping at the device.

Taking in a deep breath he turned around and quickly marched back up to the little device. He felt his heart hammering in his chest as he reached out for it, missing the look of careful observation by Hiro.

I could text you during class, I'm sure I could probably tell you more than them anyways. As for my morning well, it's bright and sunny. I don't know why you people like this kind of thing. Nights are much better than days.

It was a simply response. A simple response to a simple message, but Tadashi couldn't stop the smile that grew across his lips.

Thanks for the offer but I did pay for the class, think I'll just suffer through it. If you're still willing to help out with my boredom though you could go over some stuff with me with Baymax later if you wanted. We could wait until night if you wanted to you big baby.

"You look stupid."

Once again looking down from his phone even Hiro's words couldn't wipe the large smile off of his face. Walking passed Hiro he gently ruffled his hair with a small chuckle.

"Come on knucklehead, let's get to school."

"You're wearing that?" Hiro muttered, sliding off his chair.

Tadashi looked down at himself, taking in the dark t-shirt that he'd thrown on over a pair of loose fitting,dark jeans he'd snatched and a pair of well worn in sneakers. Sure he wasn't wearing his normal get up of skinny jeans and pastel cardigans, but he thought that he looked okay.

Looking back up at Hiro he saw that his brother was waving his empty hand up and down his brother's image as his other hand held his finished breakfast plate.

"It's just..." Hiro grumbled while his brows pinched together, "not you."

Tadashi almost wanted to laugh at that. It was funny how he felt more like himself and way more comfortable being in these clothes that 'just weren't him' rather then the clothing that everyone excepted to wear.

"Come on Hiro." He chuckled, picking his book bag up off the floor as he headed towards the stairs.

Hiro seemed to be done questioning his brother for now as he let out a tired sounding sigh and Tadashi heard the ruffle of him picking up his own bag. When his phone went off again Tadashi wasted no time in swiping it open.

What ever you want bud. It'll be a date. Meet at the same place same time?

Coming to a sudden stop, Tadashi didn't even budge when Hiro ran straight into his back.

"Ow! Tadashi! Give a guy a warning next time!"

Well Hiro was definitely up now, but the older Hamada brother found himself pushing that thought away as his eyes were glued to his phone.

Now he wasn't one for seeing things that weren't there, he took them as they were, but he didn't know what to make of this. Hiccup had called him bud, which was a natural kind of thing, but then he'd called them hanging out a date. It could have been a slip up on his part, or maybe Hiccup hadn't thought twice about it, maybe he was using it as another way to say hangout or something. What if he wasn't though?

It was probably safer if he didn't mention anything about it.

Sounds good to me. I'll meet you there.

Shoving his phone in his pocket he felt his face flush as his heart hammered in his chest.

It seemed that maybe he wasn't completely over his childhood crush yet. It was something he'd kind of figured, but nothing he'd bothered confirming until just now. For the life of him though he really wished that he didn't. Liking Hiccup like that was just going to complicate things in the future. That was the last thing that he needed.

(***)

"Oh my gosh Tadashi!" Honey gasped, her hands coming up to slap either side of her face. "What happened to you!?"

Tadashi just gave her a small smile, knowing that the bruises that were already starting to heal looked worse then they had when he'd got them. Thankfully though her outburst also drew in the attention of his other friends and he was more then overly happy to know that he was only going to have to explain this once rather then three more times.

"Jogging accident." He explained simply, not bothering to go into detail about it as he gave her a small shrug. "I just ran into a piece of construction equipment."

"How did you manage that?" Gogo ask, her brow raising as a sharp snap sounded from the bubble in her mouth.

"Wasn't really paying attention to where I was going. I was kind of tired." He chuckled softly as Hiro let out a loud sigh from beside him.

Turning his head to raise a brow at the boy Tadashi watched as Hiro slumped away from him and towards his part of the lab. Just as he was about to follow after his brother and ask him what was wrong Fred popped up in his line of view and got right up in his face.

"Wow! That's a pretty good one too! They must have hit you really hard!" The science enthusiast said with a large grin on his face as he gave a small poke to the bruise. "What did you do to piss them off amigo?"

Snapping himself out of his Hiro induced haze and wondering what was wrong with his brother Tadashi glanced down at Fred.

"What are you talking about? I said that I ran into a pipe or something like that." He said as Fred just barked out a laugh and looked over his shoulder at the others.

"Like I'm the only one who sees that this is a fist print. Am I right?"

"You know, he kind of has a point." Wasabi said as the other three squinted up at Tadashi's face. Their intense gazes made him feel like he was a bug under a microscope and he wasn't all that happy about it. Forcing a smile to his face he raised his hands up and waved them all down.

"Whoa, whoa guys. You're just jumping to conclusions." He snickered. "Anyways I have to go and work on Baymax, I didn't get much time to do it last week." He said as they nodded slowly in return.

"What ever you say robo boy." Gogo muttered, a firm frown set over her face before she made her way back over to her side of the lab.

Not waiting to see if the others were going to drop the conversation as well Tadashi made his way to his own lab. Oddly enough he found that it wasn't to hard to lie to these guys. He didn't feel as bad about it as he knew he should have. Briefly he wondered if that was a bad thing or if it should have worried him.

It's not like it was hurting them or anything, he just wasn't telling them certain things. It didn't concern them anyways and he wasn't getting hurt from it.

Letting out a sigh Tadashi opened his door and entered into his lab. Just as he was about to take another step in he came to a halt at what was in front of him.

Hiccup was sitting on top of his desk, a screw driver in his mouth with Baymax in front of him while he was working on something that Tadashi couldn't see on the robots chest.

As he stood right in front of his door Hiccup simply gave him a nod in greeting before he went back to whatever it was that he was doing as if he was the one that the room belonged to and Tadashi was the one visiting.

"I thought we were going to meet up later tonight." He said, allowing his shock to fade as he dropped his bag on the floor while Hiccup gave a quick shrug of his shoulders.

"Something came up and they need me in tonight." The brunet said around the tool in his mouth, as if that made up from him breaking into Tadashi's lab.

Not that he could really say he cared, he kind of liked having Hiccup in here even if it was only the boy's second time. There was just something so appealing and comforting about having someone who was so chaotic and different in the main part of his world that was so put together and mundane.

"I figured you wouldn't mind if I just let myself in." The boy finished as he spat the screw driver into his hand and did a few turns here and there before he seemed satisfied.

"And if I did?" Tadashi asked, finally drawing Hiccup's gaze to his face for more then a few mere seconds.

When a smirk came to Hiccup's lips Tadashi felt his stomach twist as he hopped down from the table and crossed his arms over his chest.

"How could you resist all of this?"

Carefully keeping his face blank Tadashi looked the other up and down. Giving a small shrug to so how 'uninterested' he was he looked off to the side.

"You're right? How could I resist a badmouth wannabe gangster that breaks into my lab and doesn't even have the decency to show up on time in order to save my ass."

"You still bitching about that Yama thing?" Hiccup chuckled, taking none of it to heart as he pushed himself away from the table and tapped the end of the screwdriver against the side of his head. "I could have let him beat your ass you know."

"I'm sure I would have been able to handle myself just fine thanks." Tadashi said with a small roll of his eyes before they fell on Baymax, spiking his interest in what the other had done to it while he'd been out.

"If you still have any of your old moves I wouldn't doubt it." Hiccup agreed, drawing Tadashi's brown orbs back to clash with his green.

"That a challenge?" He asked, his heart already pumping with the thought of a real fight. He hadn't had one in so long. It would have been amazing to finally be able to fight against someone of his equal once more.

"You up for it?" Hiccup questioned, a single brow raising with his words as a smirk pulled over Tadashi's lips.

"I see no problem with baling out a little bit early. I'll just have to tell Hiro to catch a ride with Wasabi again." Tadashi said as Hiccup gave a sharp nod of his head.

"Meet you outside then." The brunet said, unable to keep a smirk of his own off his face. "Just a heads up though I'm going to kick your ass. Unlike you I haven't been slacking off."

"We'll see about that." Tadashi chuckled as he made his way back out the door.

He didn't worry about how Hiccup was going to get himself out without being seen, because it was quiet obvious that he had no interest in meeting any of Tadashi's friends, but he figured the boy would get out the same way he got in. Now that he was thinking about it though how did the boy get into his lab in the first place? He realized that it wasn't the secures place around but it did have some alarms in it and what not. He wasn't just going to leave all of his research completely unprotected.

Writing it off as something he could ask Hiccup about later the older Hamada made his way over to his brother's part of the lab.

Hiro was already tinkering away on his project, his face scrunched up in concentration as he worked on the little pieces, at the same time typing away on his laptop about his finds. Apparently Hiro had decided to make these things that he called microbots for his end of the year project. He said that they were going to be used as a search and find device for natural disasters and the like. Tadashi thought it was a great idea and he couldn't wait to see them in action at the end of the year.

"Hey knuckle head." He grinned as he came up to the boy and dropped his arms on the desk.

"What do you want?" Hiro grumbled, his tone a little colder then Tadashi would have liked.

Maybe he was still a little bit upset about the weekend. The older male frowned as he thought back on how little time he'd actually spent with Hiro and decided that he would make it up to the boy later tonight.

"I'm going to head out for the rest of the day alright? Would you be okay with catching a ride from Wasabi again?" He asked.

Hiro's fingers gave a short pause, it was so short that most people wouldn't have noticed it, but Tadashi noticed everything about his brother. After a moment the scruffy haired boy finished what he was typing up and placed down the tiny bot in his hand before turning his narrowed honey colored eyes to his brother.

"Where are you going?"

"Just out." Tadashi said without missing a beat as the smile he used to charm almost everyone came across his lips. "I'll be back home later tonight okay? We can watch a movie and hangout for a bit."

He felt a little bit better when he saw the slightest bit of tension release from Hiro's shoulders and the hard look in his eyes soften up a bit. Hiro wasn't making it that easy on him though as he rolled his eyes with a huff and turned back to his work.

"Whatever. Just don't miss dinner." He grumbled under his breath as Tadashi chuckled and reached out to ruffle his hair.

"I promise okay?" He grinned before starting on his way to the door.

He'd barely gotten in two steps into his lab before he'd started talking to Hiccup and so he didn't have anything that he had to pick up thankfully. Instead he just gave a quick wave to the confused faces of his friends as he made it to the door in a brisk walk.

When he got outside he inhaled the air deeply, acting as if he'd been in there for days rather then just minutes. After he felt like he'd gotten enough fresh air in his lungs he made his way down the few steps and towards the end of the school grounds. As he was finishing walking over the bridge Hiccup seemed to appear out of thin air as he fell into step beside him.

"Took you long enough." The brunet said, shooting the other a side smirk. "I thought you were having second thoughts."

"You wished I was." Tadashi sneered back, his lips twisting into a smirk of his own. "You don't want your ass to get handed to you by someone who's been out of the game for awhile. That would just be sad."

Hiccup chuckled along with him, giving him a small shove with his shoulder as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

As they fell into a comfortable silence while making the rest of their way off of the campus, Tadashi felt a small tingle in the back of his head as the gaze of Hiccup stayed on him. When he started to feel the heat creep up the side of his neck he raised a brow and tilted his head towards the other.

"What?" He muttered, his smirk gone and replaced by a frown.

Hiccup on the other hand just shrugged, moving his eyes up and down the other briefly before he spoke.

"Nothing it's just, you changed your clothes."

Tadashi felt his lips pinching together as he remembered Hiro's words from this morning. Why did people care what he wore?

"Oh?" He mumbled, deciding to leave it at that as Hiccup gave him a slight whack to his upper arm with the back of his hand.

"What? I was just going to say that it suits you better." Hiccup said, a somewhat awkward smile on his face as if he was treading in new waters. Which he probably was, Hiccup didn't complement people, ever. "You seem more relaxed in it is all."

Tadashi let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding as the smallest of smiles came to his face.

"Thanks Hiccup."

He swore he never saw Hiccup's face get that red that fast. It was actually a little surprising how instant it was, and how red. Tadashi was sure that he could rival a newly painted firetruck with how bright it was. Sooner then he would have liked though Hiccup turned away and shifted his shoulders before clearing his throat.

"Ya whatever."

Chuckling at the fact that he could effect his friend this much Tadashi threw an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in. Hiccup grumbled at him and went to shove him away which only lead into the two having a playful trap and escape game.


	8. Chapter 8

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 8

That was the worst joke that I've ever heard. DX My poor ears!

You'll live you big baby! XP Besides, it wasn't that bad.

Dude you gave me a science joke. -_-

Science is funny!

Ya if you're a nerd. ;P

You are a nerd.

Not as much as you are.

You built a dragon. You are the King of every Dungeons and Dragons player. =King of the nerds.

...We never speak of this again. :S

Tadashi couldn't stop himself from snickering as he read the last comment. Bringing a hand up to press against his mouth he hoped to mute the noise as well as cover the large grin on his face when his professor looked over.

"Is there something you would like to share with the class Tadashi? Considering that this is the fourth time you've interrupt my lecture." Professor Fowler said, raising a brow skeptically while Tadashi waved her off.

Even as he tried not to, his shoulders still jerked every once and awhile, his ability to contain his laughter not strong enough to be able to hide it. It took a moment to get himself under control, but when he did he managed to clear out his throat and shake his shoulders out of there hunched up state. Sitting up straighter he tried to give her a small smile, but it was much to wide and much to goofy for it to be passed off as sincerer.

"No, I'm sorry."

At his response she let out a small hum of disapproval before she turned her attention back to the slide show on the whiteboard.

"What's going on with you lately?" Hiro whispered at his side, his brows pinched together.

Tadashi on the other hand just shook his head the slightest amount and quickly typed back a response.

"Nothing." He said, not even bothering to keep his voice down as he sent his message back to Hiccup.

Just as he had clicked the send button Hiro's little hand reached out and snatched his phone away from him. Tadashi barely had time to blink as Hiro tucked the device into the front of his backpack. When he finally did realize what had happened he slowly turned his head to face Hiro only to receive a glare back from the much smaller male.

"Hiro what the..."

"You can get it back after class is over." The younger Hamada grumbled, not seeming all that thrilled as he dropped his chin against his crossed arms that were now laying spread out on his desk.

Not wanting to start a fight in the middle of class, he assumed he was already on pretty thin ice with the teacher, Tadashi sat back in his seat. Crossing his own arms over his chest he couldn't stop himself from glaring down at the front of the room while his eyes scanned over the board. This was all the stuff that he'd gone over last night when he'd asked Hiccup to help him study.

He knew that he was being childish, he was pouting over his confiscated phone for god',s sake, but that didn't stop him from doing it anyways. After all what right did Hiro have to take away his phone? It's not like he didn't spend most classes annoying Tadashi or playing with one gaming device or the other under the desk. He really didn't have a right to tell or do anything about Tadashi not paying attention.

Either way he still couldn't get his phone back without completely disturbing the class and probably even being kicked out. Not able to do much of anything else Tadashi just continued to sulk in his seat and wait for the class to end.

He found that his mind wouldn't focus though. When him and Hiccup had been going over this section in the book last night Hiccup had seemed so fascinated by it that it actually made it fun for Tadashi to try and work on too. Of course Hiccup had already known a majority of what the lesson was and what the book was talking about but he seemed to be able to pull out new information regardless of how much he knew. Tadashi had even been shocked when he'd started talking about how it would help him with some parts he was still stuck on with Toothless.

Hearing it from the teacher though? They sounded so dead and so disinterested in their own topic that it actually made it painfully boring to learn about. Not that he could really blame them however when he was sure that they had given this lecture countless time over their years but still...ugh.

Dropping his chin against his palm, Tadashi turned his gaze toward the outside window and looked out across campus. When his chin made contact with his hand however he let out a sharp hiss and quickly jerked his head back. His actions caught Hiro's attention, but the boy only gave him a sharp glare before turning away and grumbling something Tadashi couldn't make out under his breath.

He had no doubt that Hiro probably thought he deserved the pain he was in right now, after all the boy hadn't believed him at all when Tadashi had told him that the new bruises were from tripping and falling when he went for an evening run just a few days ago. There was no way he was going to tell him that he'd nearly got his ass handed to him by an old friend of his. It probably hadn't helped that he'd missed both dinner and watching a movie with Hiro as well when he said he was going to.

Now that he thought about it Hiro's grumpy attitude with him made sense. He hadn't really been spending to much time with the boy over the last few weeks. It shouldn't have been this bad though, back when it had just been him in collage and Hiro hadn't arrived yet, the boy was use to Tadashi not being around much. He probably just got use to seeing his brother all the time now that they were in school together and his sudden absence again was freaking him out a little bit.

Letting out a small sigh from under his breath Tadashi made a mental note to hangout with his baby brother more in order to keep him from getting to suspicious.

(***)

"Let me guess. Ran into another construction site?" Fred asked, a smirk pulling at his lips.

Not use to being questioned the moment that he walked into the room Tadashi shifted his bag against his shoulder and winced slightly at the bruise that was being rubbed against from the movement. He shouldn't have been to surprised at the fact that after a week of showing up with new bruises and cuts on a daily bases the lie was getting to be worn thin, but it's not like he could really tell them that he was having intense sparing matches with Hiccup either, that would lead to, to many unwanted questions.

"No." He sighed, there was no way he was going to be able to keep up with that one forever. "Went out on my moped last night and got jumped by some guys in an alley. Its been happening a lot lately where I go out and there's people looking for a fight. Not all take 'no' for an answer either." He muttered with a simple shrug of his shoulders as Fred's jaw went slack.

Obviously he didn't think that, that was going to be what the older male said. Happy enough with the stunned state that he'd left his friend in though Tadashi simply nodded to him and headed on his way to his own lab.

Taking his phone out of his pocket, which he hadn't been able to get back until just a few minutes ago, Tadashi looked over the messages he'd been sent.

If you tell tell anyone then I'm going to let everyone know that you were the one that accidentally killed Hiro's pet goldfish when he was little! XP

...?

What to harsh?

Okay fine my lips are sealed then.

Oh, someone took your phone didn't they? You must suck at hiding it, this is about the third time this week. XD

I've got to go now, if you're interested though there's a new fight ring opening up. I was thinking of checking it out tonight. You wanna come with?

A new fight club? He hadn't been to one of those in a long time, but he didn't know if he really wanted to step into that scene again either. It was one thing to hangout with someone from his pasted life, it was another thing altogether to start falling back into the old routine of it.

Sure they would most likely just be doing just as Hiccup said, checking it out. He knew Hiccup though, and he knew that sometimes the boy couldn't help but involve himself in a good fight. If he thought that there was someone there that would give him a good brawl, he'd go for it. A lot of the fighters in those places however were owned by some pretty dangerous guys. He wasn't sure he was to comfortable with the idea of Hiccup beating any of their players. Then again he highly doubted they would bother trying to touch Hiccup consider how well known he was in the underbelly of Sansfransokyo.

Moving back to his first thought, Hiccup could have seriously just wanted to check it out. Even he had moments where he didn't want to cause any trouble and he just wanted to see what was going on. Hell, maybe he was even going to wear those sunglasses and that hat that he would slip on every now and again when he hung out with Tadashi. Apparently, as he later found out, Hiccup sometimes got annoyed with the way that people looked at him when they knew who he was. Maybe tonight was going to be one of those nights.

Sure. :) Sounds like it could be kind of fun! Text me the address later and where you want to meet up alright? :D

"You seem a little attached to that thing lately."

Tadashi's heart nearly jumped out of his chest at the sound of the voice from just a few feet ahead of him. Wasabi on the other hand just raised a single brow as his lips pinched together. Laughing off his jumpiness the Asian male slip his phone back into his pocket as he smiled up at his friend.

"Didn't think I was using it more then normal." Tadashi said as the darker skinned male before him gave him a smile that seemed to be as strained as they come.

"Really? For the longest time I forgot you even had a phone, now it seems to be all you're on." He said, a frown coming to Tadashi's face as he continued. "Normally I wouldn't care either, but your attention in class has been a little...lacking."

Noting to himself that he was going to have to find seating away from his friends and little brother for future classes, Tadashi gave his friend a small shrug.

"Have my grades been suffering?" He questioned, earning himself a deep frown from the other.

"...No." Wasabi said slowly, his eyes darting to the side as he came up with what he wanted to say next. "Not yet anyways, but Tadashi I'm starting to worry about you."

His face scrunched up at the words. Wasabi was worried about him? Why? Of all the people in their group Tadashi should have been the one that they were least worried about.

"Well thanks for your concern but you don't have to worry." Tadashi said as Wasabi let out a sharp huff of air.

"Really?" He said as he crossed one arm over his chest and used the other to motion up and down the others body. "I don't have to worry when you've been acting weird these past few months? I don't have to be worried when you come into school with a new bruise every day? I shouldn't worry about the fact that Hiro rides home with me more then he does with you now? I shouldn't be worried that you're so distracted by your phone lately that you've barely made any improvements on Baymax or anything else for that matter?"

Tadashi opened his mouth to resort, but nothing came out. Instead his words got caught up in his throat and anything he could have said died on his tongue.

Well when he said it like that...

Maybe Tadashi had been slipping a little bit.

"Sorry." He didn't know what else to say other then that as he dropped his gaze to the floor, wondering just what else he could say on the matter.

He couldn't tell them what was going on. He just knew that they would jump down Hiccup's throat now. They would think that he was the reason that Tadashi was acting so strange and they would blame him for Tadashi's sudden dive. It wasn't Hiccup though, sure he might have brought out the other side of Tadashi, but it was so freeing.

This Tadashi that everyone he cared for knew wasn't him. He was a mask that Tadashi wore in order to hide from his past, in order to hide from his old life and his old ways. To hide from the freedom he'd once had. This Tadashi that Wasabi was worrying over was quickly becoming more of a nuisance. Like a second skin that just needed to be peeled away until all that was left was the one underneath. The one that was the real Tadashi.

Coming to a decision in his mind the Asian male straightened himself out and gave the much bigger male in front of him a small smile.

"I'll be alright Wasabi. I'm just trying to go through some things at the moment." He said.

When the others brows just rested flatly over his eyes Tadashi didn't give him much more thought as he ducked his way passed and continued towards his lab.

"If you need help with any of it we're all here for you Tadashi." Wasabi called over his shoulder as Tadashi fought back on rolling his eyes.

He was sure that their hearts were in the right place, but that didn't make any of their questions or concerns any less irritating. If he did end up getting into any trouble he was more then capable of getting himself out of it. If there were any problems that he couldn't handle himself? Well he knew all he had to do was call Hiccup's name and the boy would be right there.

Feeling a buzz in his pocket Tadashi fished his phone out of his pocket. Smiling down at the message that was sent back he already couldn't wait for tonight.

Meet me in the usual place at 11. After were done we could go for another flight on Toothless. That is, as long as you don't try and squeeze me to death again. :)

He couldn't wait to get a more in depth look at Toothless, and the flying had been so serial. He even had dreams about falling into the skies on Toothless' back with Hiccup by his side.

With a grin on his face he quickly wrote back, easily making his way to his lab without even having to look.

If you don't want me to hold you then install seat belts on the goddamn thing. XP

He was so caught up in his messaging he didn't notice Hiro's gaze narrowing at his phone from the other side of the lab, or the tight grip that his brother had on the screwdriver in his hand that turned his knuckles white.

(***)

"Aw, look at you. All dressed up and pretty looking."

Tadashi rolled his eyes as he pushed himself off of the wall that he'd been leaning against. He would never admit to the fact that he was leaning against the wall to keep Hiccup from sneaking up behind him like he had an annoying habit of doing. However he was only moving now that he had a perfect view of the other and where he was.

"I'd hardly call this 'dressed up'." Tadashi muttered with an airy chuckle as he walked up to the other.

Hiccup simply hummed, his bright green orbs scanning Tadashi up and down so intently that the other could feel the burn of a blush creeping up upon his cheeks. Never before had he been so happy that they always met up when it was dark.

When Hiccup's eyes finally did snap up to be met with his own he felt his breath catch and his heart jump into his throat. It seemed that the more that he was hanging out with Hiccup the worse his body reacted to even the smallest of things.

"I just mean that it's better then you're nerd get up. Finally ditched shopping at the NerdsR'Us store?" Hiccup questioned, receiving a flat look in response.

"Sadly yes. They had good customer service and they will be missed."

He knew that he said the right thing when Hiccup's eyes seemed to spark and his cheeks puffed up with air while he tried not to laugh.

"Gods, you're such a nerd." Hiccup snickered, throwing an arm around Tadashi's shoulders as he turned them to walk down a different street. "You ready for tonight? It's going to be so much fun." Hiccup grinned as he brought his free hand up in order to pull the sunglasses down the bridge of his nose some, just enough to see Tadashi over the rim. "I hear they have some good competition tonight too."

"You planning on jumping in?" The other asked.

Not that he really expected anything different from the auburn haired male beside him, but he'd kind of hoped that Hiccup wouldn't mind just sitting on the side lines tonight. As much as he enjoyed it the last thing he wanted to do was to have to either, book it out of there, or take on a large amount of underground fighters.

"Nope." Hiccup said, popping the 'p' as he pushed the glasses back into place. "I haven't partaken in those things in forever. Kind of an unfair advantage."

Tadashi scoffed at that, his eyes rolling again as he shook his head.

"Right, because you're all about fair in a fight." He tasked. "You seem to forget that you've been sparring with me for the last week or so. I of all people would know you don't do fair."

Hiccup let out a bark of laughter, his head tilted slightly upward before he squeezed Tadashi closer for a moment with the arm around his shoulder.

"Nah, that's just cause I like seeing you on your back and you fucking suck at fighting."

Not much of what the boy said in that sentence made it through Tadashi's head, not after the 'I like seeing you on your back' comment. Just the thought alone made Tadashi's face heat up hotter then the center of the sun. Although he was sure that Hiccup didn't mean it the way it sounded Tadashi himself couldn't take it any other way.

Reaching his hand up to grab at the rim of his hat, only to grasp empty air when he remembered he hadn't worn it out, Tadashi covered himself by running his hand through his hair. His lips had pinched together and any hope he had at pulling his mind out of the gutter before Hiccup noticed as dashed against the rocks when emerald greens locked on his beat red face.

"What's wrong? No come back?" Hiccup asked, his voice sounding genuinely confused as Tadashi tried to cover up his face by coughing into his hand.

"I uh..."

Tadashi so badly just wanted them to stop and just talk for about two seconds. See what was going on between them and get it sorted out so he could finally stop trying to decode everything that came out of Hiccup's mouth. Yet he knew he couldn't. The moment he would say anything to Hiccup on the subject he had no doubt that the boy would shut down and they'd never get anywhere. He was just going to have to continue waiting it out and see what would happen. As much as it was going to suck to have to wait he could do it.

"Sorry, I'm just, I'm just thinking about what this fighting place is gonna look like."

"Well that's bullshit." Hiccup scoffed, dropping his arm from around Tadashi's shoulders and shoving them deep into his pockets.

Caught off guard by his sudden change in mood Tadashi found his head snapping around to face his friend again.

"What? No I seriously..!"

"Look Tadashi." Hiccup muttered, rolling his shoulders and pinning the other with a flat look before he continued. "If you don't want to tell me something that's fine. It's not like I share all my thoughts either," he said with a roll of his eyes. "but I'm not an idiot and lying to me is just plain insulting. Besides, you're terrible at it."

Sucking his lips into his mouth Tadashi didn't know what to say to that. He guessed that Hiccup had never taken offense before when Tadashi didn't want to share something. He would just wait until the other was ready to talk about it as long as it didn't start to effect their daily lives. Why he'd thought that lying to Hiccup had been a good idea he wasn't sure.

"Sorry." He muttered, earning a side glance from the brunet. "Just have a lot on my mind I guess and I've kind of gotten use to having to lie to people lately."

"Because of me." Hiccup put in, his tone oddly blank as Tadashi winched.

"Yeah."

There was an long silence after that. Not knowing what to say the slightly taller male brought his hand back up to rub at the back of his neck. He kind of missed having his hat, especially right about now. It always gave him something to do with his hands when he was drawing a blank, something to help focus his mind when things got a little awkward or weird. Which was what they were right now.

Biting down on the corner of his lip he took a quick look over to take a peek at Hiccup's face. Sadly with the sunglasses blocking his view he couldn't pick up much from the stoic expression the other wore. He hadn't meant for that to sound so offense, but now that he thought about it he could see how much of a slap to the face it must have been for the other. He might as well have just shouted in Hiccup's ear, 'I can't tell anyone I know about you since you're not good enough!'

It wasn't true, not even a little bit, but he was sure that's how it probably sounded.

"You know I'm kind of glad."

When Hiccup was the first to speak Tadashi nearly jumped out of his skin. Placing a hand over his heart to make sure that it was still there he raised a brow at the other.

"You are?" He asked, his voice wavering with confusion as a smile came to the boy's face.

"Yeah," Hiccup continued, nodding his head as his smile only seemed to get bigger. "I mean this means that I'm the only one who gets to see this side of you right? The real you? I think that's pretty cool."

Nearly stumbling over his own feet Tadashi couldn't pull his eyes away from the grinning auburn male. Leave it to Hiccup to put it in that kind of way.

Unable to help a small smile from coming to his lips as well he felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. With a small shake of his head he let out a light chuckle.

"Gods, what am I going to do with you?"

Hiccup just smirked in response.


	9. Chapter 9

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 9

Tadashi gave out a slight groan as he rolled away from the source of the reason he was rudely awaken from his sleep. It seemed that fate had other plans however when he rolled right over and his face met the unforgiving bite of rough brick. With a hiss the, suddenly very awake, male jerked his head back and glared at the wall that was now only a few inches away from his nose.

He couldn't help but just blink at it for a moment. Even though his body was awake and ready for action it seemed that his brain still needed some time to catch up as he just continued to stare at the blood red bricks. As far as he remembered he had dry wall in his room, and so did Hiro. In fact the only places in their home that didn't would have just been at the store front so...

Rolling over to turn back to the sun his eyes squeezed shut tightly, his hand coming up to rub at his face automatically while another small groan slipped forth. Blinking into the harsh light he looked around the area he was in and tried to piece some things together.

He could see that he was in someones home. A really run down one that was no doubt one of the cheapest ones available with a questionable legal use, but it was still someones home. There was a thick steal door on the other side of the room and right next to it was a tiny kitchen area that was so small one person might have been a crowd in it. The doors were hanging off of the cupboards, if they had any doors at all, and next to the sink was a pile of clean dish left on a dish rack.

To the right of the kitchen there was a door, or at least a door frame that lead into a clean looking bathroom. All in all there wasn't much and the place look pretty clean if he didn't take into account of the peeling paint on the walls and the threadbare carpet floors that showed the cement flooring underneath in some places. The only real messy area in the whole place would have been in the far corner just over Tadashi's head. It was a desk with a tiny table lamp on it and scattered all across the desk and the floor around it were different tools and machinery. Tadashi only then realized that the bed that he was laying on didn't have a bed frame and was actually sitting on the floor.

Bringing himself up on his elbows Tadashi looked around again, but he couldn't see anyone who could actually be the owner of the house. Glancing down at himself he did a quick check to make sure that he was still wearing all of his clothing and that nothing was out of place before he bothered sitting up. It seemed that the only piece of clothing that was missing were his shoes and they had only been placed at the end of his bed.

With a frown set firmly over his lips he wondered just what had happened last night after him and Hic had gone to the fight club.

He could remember thinking that it wasn't all that bad for a new place and it seemed organized enough. He remembered him and Hiccup deicing to partake in a bit of a drinking contest with some other guys which lead to a drinking contest between the two of them and he really couldn't remember much after that.

Knowing that Hiccup wouldn't have left him alone if he'd gotten blackout drunk Tadashi came to the conclusion that he must have been at Hiccup's house.

Looking around once more he felt his frown ease up as he nodded his head at his surroundings. This place wasn't that bad. It was a lot nicer then the boy's first home that was for sure.

When he heard the door opening he flopped onto his back and allowed himself to stretch out.

"What the hell happened last night?" He muttered, dropping his hands to his face and rubbing at his eyes roughly.

"You don't remember?" Hiccup questioned, his voice light before the sound of the door snapping shut echoed around the room.

"I don't have much of a tolerance for alcohol anymore, haven't really had a drink in a few good years." Tadashi admitted, becoming aware of just how loud everything was now that he wasn't the only person in the room. The light from the window didn't seem to be helping much either...

"That explains a lot actually." Hiccup hummed, the sound of a rustling paper bag making Tadashi groan again as he yanked the blanket over his head.

"What does that explain?" He asked, hoping he hadn't done anything to stupid last night.

Dropping his arms back to the bed he tilted his head toward the other and watched as Hiccup pulled out little Styrofoam containers from a paper bag with a rough dragon logo on it.

"If you can't remember it, it isn't important." Hiccup said, shooting a quick smirk in the others direction before moving his attention back to the balancing game he had going on in his arms. "But I'd go through your phone and delete the name 'Jack' out of there." He continued, walking over to the bed as Tadashi raised a brow at him.

"Jack? Who's Jack?" He muttered, thankfully taking the food while Hiccup sat down on the floor before him.

"Some little goodie two shoes who's trying to be bad." Hiccup said with a shrug as he attacked the thick looking stew in his hands with his weapon of choice. Tadashi never knew spoons could look that scary.

"What makes you say that?" The dark haired male question, popping open his own container and gazing down at what he'd gotten. Grilled cheese. He could live with that.

"Because I bet you the worst thing he's ever done is pull one to many pranks or gotten into one or two fights in order to stand up for someone. The guy's much to innocent to be hanging around the area. I ended up chasing him off."

"Oh, well how did I get his number?" Tadashi muttered, patting down his pockets and realizing that he didn't have his phone in any of them.

"Don't know. I think he gave it to you after you guys finished sticking your tongue down each other throats," the smaller male said nonchalantly as Tadashi's search came to a halt, "or you could have asked for it after you two were finished groping each other. I'm not really sure when or how you got it actually."

"Wait! I did what!?" Tadashi said, his cheeks flaming red while Hiccup let out a loud laugh at the no doubt stupid expression over the others face.

"Bud it's fine." He snicker, bringing a hand down to pat on Tadashi's shoulder heavily. "I thought you needed to let loose a little, turns out I was right."

"You just sat there and watched the whole thing happen without saying anything?" Tadashi snapped, a frown set firmly over his face.

He was sure any intimidating look he was going for though was shattered as he took a large chunk out of his sandwich and nearly chocked.

"What was I supposed to say?" Hiccup asked, a smirk sitting smugly over his lips. "You're a full grown adult, you can handle yourself."

Glaring at the auburn haired male as he made sure to take a smaller bite and actually -chew- his food, Tadashi pointed an accusing finger at him.

"Some friend you are."

Hiccup only chuckled at him, not taking any of it to heart as he never did while he dug back into his own food.

"Where is my phone anyways?" Tadashi asked, his eyes looking around the room again to see if maybe it had fallen out of his pocket and ended up somewhere else.

At hearing the question Hiccup tapped his spoon against the edge of his container and continued to look around the room while still chewing on the larger chunks of stew in his mouth. Humming to himself when it seemed that he came up blank too, he turned back to Tadashi and shrugged, shoving a new spoonful into his mouth.

"Did you check behind the bed? It could have gotten stuck between the mattress and the wall. I remember hearing it go off constantly last night and you grumbled something about stupid ring tones and evil robots. I don't know what happened to it after that."

Tadashi felt as if a bucket of cold water had just been dumped on him as he remembered something that was super important that he completely forgot about.

His family and friends.

Hiro and Aunt Cass were probably freaking out and they had no doubt called the others when he didn't show up last night. Put that together with all the cuts and bruises he'd shown up with lately and his slight shift in personality and they might have even gotten the police involved. Although thankful he knew that he needed to be missing for at least forty eight hours before they could do anything but he was sure in some cases they would make an exception and he was sure with his Aunt they'd be forced to.

"Shit!"

The cures slipped passed his lips before he could even think about it as he dived for his phone behind the couch. Hiccup on the other hand seemed to be completely at ease as he just continued watching Tadashi with little interest while munching his food.

When he finally did find his cell he felt his heart sink when he slid his thumb over the screen and saw what time it was.

. It was two in the afternoon.

So not only was he probably freaking everyone out but he was late for a class and had missed two others. Go figure that one of his busiest class days this would happen.

His stomach dropped even lower when he saw a bold, two hundred and fifty missed messages along with phone calls.

"Fuck."

"This isn't sounding so good." Hiccup said from beside him, his voice oddly calm despite Tadashi's freaked out state.

"Everyone I know is going to want my head on a platter." Tadashi grumbled, squirming his way to the edge of the bed and snatching up his boots in record speed.

Hiccup only made a noise of confirmation before tilting his bowl up and sipping out what was left.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Tadashi growled, reaching out and whacking the boy on the arm with the back of his hand.

When Hiccup lowered the bowl though all he was greeted with was a smirk and narrowed green eyes.

"What? And miss this? It's quiet nice to have lunch and a show." He snickered, seconds before Tadashi snatched his bowl out of his hands and chucked it at his head.

Being light, the object fell to the side harmlessly but Hiccup raised a brow at the attempted attack as if to say, 'really? That's all you got? Pitiful.'

"In all seriousness," Hiccup sighed after a moment longer, running his hand through his hair as he leaned back on his arm, "you looked tired and I thought you needed some sleep. You haven't been getting much lately have you?"

"Not really." Tadashi admitted, slipping into one shoes and quickly tying it up. "I'm with you all night and them all day, just don't have much time for it."

Not that he'd ever really told anyone, or even gave it much thought. He was just doing what he wanted and what he had to, and if he couldn't sleep much because of it then so be it. He thought it was a little weird that Hiccup of all people noticed though considering that he normally had the most energy when he was around the boy, but he guessed that Hiccup had always had really good observation skills.

"Thought as much." Hiccup said, a frown over his face as he leaned forward again, this time his elbows resting on the knees of his crossed legs. "If you're to tired to hangout though you know you could just tell me that. We could always just hangout here or not at all you know."

"Ya I know." Tadashi said, grabbing his other shoe and putting it on. "But I like hangout with you."

Quickly swiping open some of the messages he cursed again at the texts that his friends and family had left. All of them wondering if he was okay, or hurt, or if he was in trouble. As he stood up, balancing his phone in one hand and the rest of the sandwich in the other, Hiccup stood with him.

"Okay, shit, yeah, I really need to go." He mumbled as they both made their way quickly to the door.

"Alright, I'll just see you later then." Hiccup said, opening it for his friend seeing as how his hands were full.

"Ya, I'll text you later." Tadashi agree leaning in and quickly stealing a peck from the boy's lips.

Without another word he called out a swift goodbye and made his way down the rickety fire escape outside the door.

Briefly he wondered how Hiccup had managed to get him up to his house in the first place and confirmed his, less then legal, thinking on the area. It wasn't until he'd finished reading all the messages and took a look through all of his missed calls did he realize what he'd just done and came to a sharp stop.

He'd just fucking kissed Hiccup.

Shittttt.

Staring blankly into the crowed streets as he stood in the mouth of yet another alley, Tadashi felt a strong coil wrap around his chest making it hard for him to breath. What was he supposed to do now? Sure Hiccup seemed fine with him being gay but that didn't mean that he himself was. Other then that one time when they had both been completely drunk did Hiccup even bother to experiment. Then again they had been separated for awhile, maybe that was something he was into now. The idea of Hiccup being with other people seemed to make Tadashi choke as his gaze narrowed to the point where people walking by picked up their pace in fear he would lash out at them.

Next time that he saw the auburn haired trouble maker he was going to have to apologize.

So much for hoping to just hide those set of feelings though. There was no way he could come up with anything for that one. Not that it was his fault, he'd just...it had just happened. Maybe Hiccup would just write it off as him still being a little bit hungover or something?

Shoving the rest of the food into his mouth Tadashi decided that he was going to have to focus on one thing at a time right now. First things first, he should probably go home and let his Aunt know that he was alright. Second thing he could run to the school and run around to find someone from each of his classes for notes, there was noway Hiro took any. Then he could let his friends know and figure out what he was supposed to tell Hiccup.

First his Aunt.

(***)

Well, he guessed that knocking off a majority of his problems all in one go was a good idea too. Sitting right before him was his whole group along with his Aunt and even a police officer.

The woman looked at him skeptically. Her eyes scanning up and down his rumpled clothing and bruises up face with a pinched expression before she turned her attention back to his Aunt.

"Is this the young man you were talking about?" She asked, her tone flat while Tadashi gave her a small glare back.

"Yes I just thought..."

However Tadashi was the one who interrupted his Aunt as he held the door open and plaster an obviously fake smile over his face.

"As you can see I'm completely fine. No reason to stick around."

Everyone stood in shock over his abrupt dismissal of the officer as she raised her nose at him and turned back to a wide eyed Cass.

"Seeing as how your nephew is back I no longer see a reason for my presence. Have a good day Ms Hamada."

Glaring at one another as she passed through the door Tadashi waited until it clicked shut before he turned his attention to everyone else in the room.

"You guys called the cops?"

"And why wouldn't we?" Hiro asked, his voice sharp as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You went missing all night and then most of the day today after being gone almost all yesterday."

"What are you talking about?" Tadashi mumbled as he raised a brow at his brother. "I was with you most of the time yesterday, I took a jog at around ten. That's not all night, it hasn't even been twenty four hours."

"For you Tadashi that might as well be a week." Gogo put in, her gum missing from her mouth for once as she too sent a leveled glare at him. "And you said that you went out for a run? What took you so long to get back then?"

"I ran into a friend." Tadashi said quickly rolling his eyes as he brought his hands up to his head to rub against the temples.

Think of something quick, think of something quick.

"They're from one of my extra classes. He said that he just broke up with his girlfriend and he was in really bad shape. He wanted to get a few drinks and I didn't want him to go alone so I tagged along. He had way to many so I took him back home but he lives in the downtown area and all the buses were closed so I couldn't get back. I tried to call you guys but my phone had died and didn't finish charging till I got up around oneish." He explained, trying to stick as close to the truth as possible.

After all the best lies were laced with truth.

The entire group was silent, he couldn't really blame them for being suspicious, but that didn't mean that he couldn't get them to believe him either.

"I'm sorry that I freaked you guys out." He said as he dropped his hands to the side.

He wasn't lying about that either. He really did feel bad for making them all worry and freak out to the point where they thought the police were necessary. He should have texted Hiro or called his Aunt last night when he realized that he wasn't going to be coming back, or maybe even gotten Hiccup to do it. He was sure by the time he gave up on the idea of going home he was probably already blackout drunk.

"If this ever happens again I'll make sure to contact you guys and let you know okay? I just...wasn't thinking last night." He mumbled his eyes trailing off to the side.

"Seems you haven't been thinking a lot lately." Hiro grumbled, crossing his small arms over his tiny chest.

Instead of taking the bait for a fight Tadashi just sighed, running his hand down his face before leaning back on the door and opening it a crack.

"Yes I realize that, which is why I'm going to walk to the school to pick up all of my missed work and hunt down some notes. Anyone want to come with me for the walk?"

Trying to defuse the situation Tadashi gave them all an easy smile while he watched as the tension in the room slowly evaporated.

Honey was the first one to hop up to him, all rainbows and sunshine as she started up about her new invention. Fred followed closely after shoving a new comic book into his face. Wasabi and Gogo came next, Gogo giving him a good shot to the arm and Wasabi asking him if he wanted to go upstairs and change quickly or maybe iron out his clothing.

Hiro was the last to move forward, but his gaze didn't ease up any and a frown was planted firmly over his lips. As they headed out Tadashi didn't miss the knowing look on his Aunt's face. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her shoulders were curled in. When her eyes moved back to the mark that still was settled firmly over their shop window Tadashi pressed his lips into a thin line.

She knew Hiccup was back.


	10. Chapter 10

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 10

Hiccup's brows furrowed close together as he tried to concentrate on the inner wires of Toothless. He found that every time he tried however he ended up messing something up or giving himself a nasty shock. Finally deciding to give up he dropped the tools in his hands and then spat out the one he'd been holding in between his lips. Wiping his hand over his mouth he rolled himself on to his feet and took the rag out of his pocket. Quickly running it over his face he glared at the open space of his robotic dragon before dropping the gray tinged cloth to the floor and picking up the panel piece.

There was no point on him working on something if he couldn't concentrate properly. At this rate he was just going to screw up something big time. Grumbling lowly to himself he walked over to his laptop and typed in what he did manage to get a look at without screwing anything up before exiting out of his data program.

Not without a deep sigh, he brought his hand up to his eyes and roughly placed the tips over his eyes lids. Rather then doing what he wanted it to do, which was help clear his thoughts a little, all it did was bring up the kiss from this morning.

Dropping his hand as if it had shocked him, Hiccup couldn't stop the burning flush that covered his entire face in a few mere seconds.

He'd been thrown completely off guard and couldn't even get his lips to move in order to make a sound even after Tadashi had reached the bottom of the fire escape. It's not like he was a square when it came to these kinds of things, he'd madeout with random people all the time at different bars and parties, and occasionally even some of his close friends, but this felt different. It had barely been any longer then a second and he could still feel a slight tingle and the brain fog that normally came from having a good ten minute makeout session. It also seemed that no matter what he tried to do he couldn't get it out of his head.

Now it was just getting to the point of being pathetic.

Flopping himself down on the old stool that swayed and groaned when he sat on it Hiccup tried to go over some of Toothless' information, comparing it to the new stats that Astrid had sent him on Stormfly.

When he realized that he'd read the same paragraph over four times he shut it down with a soft growl and opened up something else he knew he'd have no problem focusing on.

"Computer, connect me to project Skrill." He said, running his hand threw his hair while the other hand reached out to grab a box of cookies that was sitting right next to the monitor.

His screen whirled to life, different charts and videos popping up along side some graphs and notes. Looking them over Hiccup nibbled on the cookie in his hand as he checked over every new piece of information carefully. A small frown came to his lips when he noticed that although Tadashi's fatigue rate had gone down, his stress levels had gone up a great deal.

That was to be expected though. After all his friends and what not had probably freaked out at him for being late-oh boohoo- and Hiccup was sure he'd missed quiet a few of his classes from his 'prep school'. He almost felt a little bit bad.

Almost and only a little bit.

Maybe he was going to have to take Tadashi out again, throw him into a fight worth his attention or slip him a little something. Nothing strong, but something just strong enough to take the edge off. Then again the last thing that he wanted to do was piss the other off by giving him something when he wasn't aware of it. He could just mention it and if Tadashi said no then he wouldn't bring it up again.

"Computer show me the visual settings from project bubble bot." He he said as he swiped another cookie out of the packaging and popped it into his mouth.

His whole screen went black for a moment before a super blurry picture came to life on the dash. It took only a few mere seconds before everything cleaned up and he could see around the room. When he saw Tadashi and his little brother seeming as if they were in the middle of some sort of argument he quickly shut it down and snatched another cookie.

He had no interest on spying on Tadashi's privet conversations with his friends or family members. Not that tinkering with Baymax hadn't been helpful. The robot was actually a good source of inspiration for a few new upgrades with Toothless, like the scanner for one thing. That was just the best thing he'd ever heard of. Even so he'd messed with Baymax's cameras and scanners simply to watch after Tadashi's health, not to spy on his every waking move like some creep.

Having gotten the little incident from today a little bit more out of his head he felt somewhat calmer as he played around with the mouse pad to open up another file. Scanning over the information with a better eye then before he felt his brows raising when as he looked over some information.

That couldn't be right.

"Computer bring up..."

A knock at his door cut him off. With his gaze slowly moving over to it he tried to run through a list in his head of people who knew that he was at this place and why they would be coming here. Getting out of his seat slowly, making sure to keep his steps absolutely silent, Hiccup slipped his knife out of the pocket of his jacket as he pass it and made his way to the door. Standing with his shoulder pressed against it just in case someone tried to shove their way in once it was opened he got his knife ready as he placed his hand on the doorknob. Taking a deep breath he twisted the handle and pulled it open a crack in one smooth motion.

"Hello Hiccup."

(***)

"IS THIS REALLY PAINFUL?"

Tadashi had to grit his teeth to keep himself from screaming out loud while his hands stayed clamped firmly over his ears.

If this was what Hiro was going to do every single time he messed up then he was going to have to come up with some sound proof headphones or something, or at least invest in buying a pair. His head was pounding and none of his friends seemed to want to come to his rescue either, the smiles on their faces was a good way to spot their deep amusement with the whole situation. They all probably thought that he deserved it. What jerks.

"Hiro please stop." He groaned out, wishing the boy would stop yelling at him, or banging the hammer on the random piece of sheet metal that Gogo had oh so graciously given him.

"WHAT WAS THAT? I'M SORRY I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER ALL OF THIS NOISE!" Hiro continued as Tadashi dropped his head on the top of his desk.

Of all the days to miss classes, those being places that Hiro would have to be quiet in, and to just attend lab, a place where Hiro could be as loud as he wanted to an extent without bothering anyone, it had to be today.

Oddly enough now that Tadashi was thinking about it he had no idea how someone else hadn't come along yet and gotten Hiro to stop. He must have been disturbing someone. Then again however this way lab and things could get pretty loud sometimes. They all probably just thought that he was building something. It's not like they could see to clearly through the fogged glass at what he was doing.

What he wouldn't give to be back with Hiccup right now. Still curled up asleep in the little cocoon of blankets, warm, and quiet.

The more he thought about Hiccup the more he found himself relaxing and somehow even blocking out Hiro and all the noise he was making.

It had really been nice to hangout with Hiccup last night. To just let loose and unwind for once without having to worry about anyone saying this or that about it. Waking up this morning had even been kind of nice too. Oddly enough he was one of the rare people that actually liked getting up the morning after a night out, regardless if he had a hangover or not for the single fact that Hiccup was always with him whenever it happened. He'd always be there with food and a mello conversation, always seeming to be completely unaffected by any hangovers no matter how much he drank.

Everything had just felt so right this morning when he'd woken up, he'd forgotten how right it could feel just because of that one person. Secretly as well he liked being cared for, for once. Everyone that he knew he was the 'older brother', the 'perfect nephew', the 'mother hen', the 'perfect student'. He was sick of it. He just wanted to be Tadashi, the guy who, on occasion, screwed up and, every once and awhile, need to be looked after. It's not like he was asking to be babysat or anything, but just for once he wouldn't mind having someone just to allow him to not have to worry about doing everything and making it perfect.

Hiccup stepped in and filled that role perfectly.

The only problem he might have now would be if he'd just messed everything up with that kiss this morning. He was sure that Hiccup was probably a little pissed about that, after all apparently he had just been tonguing someone just a little while earlier.

Which reminded him...

Having completely tuned Hiro out by this point Tadashi removed his hands from his ears and used them to grab at his phone that was sitting on the table just in front of him. Seeing that he had no new calls or messages he could feel his stomach twist a little at the thought that maybe Hiccup was ignoring him now, but he could understand that. It would probably be best if he just left the guy alone for a little while.

Shaking the thought from his head he flipped through his contacts until he found the number that he was looking for.

Jack Frost.

Well, that name was definitely different. Was the guy a stripper or something? No, Hiccup had said that he seemed far to innocent for that so maybe he as just a fan of the folklore. Although Tadashi couldn't think of why. From what he knew of the legend the spirit was almost kind of evil and would freeze wanders to death if they stayed out to long. Maybe it had changed over the years and was something completely different now though?

Realizing that he'd strayed from his original task once more Tadashi focused his eyes back on his phone and deleted the number. Sure he felt a little bad but he really didn't have any interest in anyone he took an attraction to while drunk. That had been one of his rules when he'd first started drinking.

"I'll take that."

Tadashi didn't have a moment to respond before his phone was yanked out from between his fingers by his little brother. He hadn't even heard when Hiro had placed down his objects of irritation and had gone quiet or else he would have known that he was thinking of sneaking up on him, he'd just been so distracted by his thoughts.

"Hiro give that back." He said, letting out a tired sigh at the same time while he sat back in his chair.

"Ya, I don't think so." Hiro mumbled as he played around on the little device in his hands for a moment, his brows pulled together while he did this and that with it.

"Hiro, it's not yours, give it back." Tadashi said again, his eyes narrowing as he wondered just what his little brother was doing to his phone.

"Let's see, Aunt Cass, know her." Hiro mumbled, his feet working to walk him backwards and further away from Tadashi as the older Hamada brother's eyes went wide. "Brad, that's the guy from theory of robotics."

"Hiro." Tadashi said as he stood up, his tone low in warning.

"Claude, Fred, Gogo, know, know, know."

"Hiro, give it back now."

"Howard..."

Without giving it much thought Tadashi picked up the metal sheet and smashed it against the ground. It caused his ears to ring and he bit back on a groan as his head felt like it was being split open but it also did it's part in shocking his brother. Hiro had come to a complete stop and his head had snapped up at the sudden loud noise, his shoulders raising to his ears in a form of defense in case it might have been something to jump out and attack him. Without a word Tadashi reached over and plucked his phone from his little brother's weak grasp before placing it back in his pocket.

Crossing his arms over his chest he glared down at the smaller male who had snapped his mouth shut and brought his deep brown eyes up to lock with Tadashi's.

"Do not go snooping around in other people's privet lives Hiro." Tadashi said, his voice on the edge of growling but doing well to keep itself firmly in the stern category. "Now I think it's time for you to pay some attention to your own project, don't you?"

Hiro seemed to be stumped. His eyes darted to the door for a single moment and then snapped back to Tadashi. He opened his mouth, snapped it shut, and then opened it again. It seemed to take him a few seconds but he eventual seemed to pull himself together, his eyes narrowing and his shoulders relaxing as he faced his older brother.

"What the hell Tadashi." He growled his arms wrapping around his stomach as his eyes shot down to look at the sheet on the floor before coming back up to meet his brother's warm brown. "Are you on something?"

Tadashi barked out a laugh at that. It wasn't one of his comforting ones either. It was all hard edges and cold north winds. Hiro seemed to be braving the sudden drop in tempter as he refused to back down.

"No Hiro I'm not on anything. Do you want to take a sample? Maybe get it tested?" Tadashi sassed, earning himself a single brow raise from the smaller male. "Do you think that maybe it's because I've got the worst headache in the world right now and you're not helping it. In fact you're adding to it."

"Well if you would just tell me what's going on..."

"I don't have to go over every aspect of my life with you Hiro." Tadashi snapped, doing well to shut his brother up.

Hiro's anger evaporated into pure bafflement. It was as if he had no idea what to do when he was faced with Tadashi like this.

"But I...what about when you..."

"When I got involved in your life Hiro it was because you were wasting your potential and you were going to get yourself hurt, or maybe even worse, killed. You have no idea just who you went against when you were bot fighting do you? You have no idea just what kind of people they were."

"Thugs, low lives, and bot fighter enthusiasts?" Hiro mumbled, his brows drawing together as he gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. "What does that...?"

"Some of them are mob bosses Hiro." Tadashi said, his gaze sharp enough to slice through the thickest sheet of metal. "And I'm not talking about the bosses of people who break into homes or stores and commit small theft. I'm talking about the kind of bosses that are in charge of large areas of Sansfransokyo. People who have business in drugs, human trafficking, and murder. Those were the kinds of people you were pissing off on a nightly bases." Tadashi said as he carefully watched as the boy's eyes grew wide while his mouth dropped open. "That is why I got involved in your life Hiro."

"But I didn't- I couldn't have..."

"Hiro listen," Tadashi couldn't hold back his sigh while he brought his hand up to squeeze the bridge of his nose, "I know you're mad about the fact that I didn't show up last night, but honestly, it's not that bad."

"I'm not mad that you didn't show up last night." Hiro said quickly, receiving a very flat look from his older brother. "That's only part of it." The boy added in, almost like an afterthought.

He took a breath, puffing up his cheeks a little bit before he raised his hands to run through his hair. Tadashi on the other hand just waited for him to finish saying his piece if only so he could finally get some peace and quiet for himself.

"I'm mad because you're keeping secrets from me."

Tadashi tightened his hold on his crossed arms as Hiro raised his dark brown orbs to meet with his own.

"You've never done that before."

There was nothing he could say to that. He really had never kept anything from Hiro before, he'd always made sure to keep their relationship an honest and open one. There was no way that he would be able to mention any of this to his brother though. Not the fact that he liked men, not the idea of talking about his old fights, not the truth that he use to be one of the people who stole from the mob intentionally.

Hiro would kill him. He would be ashamed of him. As bad as it was to see Hiro being upset with him, he knew that it would be much worse to see him disappointed.

"Go work on your project Hiro." Tadashi said, dropping his gaze from the face of his brother to the top of his desk.

For a single breath, both of them seemed to be frozen in time. With one twitch of his finger however it was as if the spell that had been cast was broken and Hiro kicked at the sheet that was still sitting on the ground. As it skittered across the floor it made an awful screeching sound that made Tadashi winch as his headache made itself known once more, this time with a vengeance.

"Fine! Whatever Tadashi! See if I care!" The boy snarled.

As he walked passed his brother he made sure to shove his shoulder into him as hard as he could. Not feeling the need to hide just how strong he was Tadashi barely moved, which only served to fuel his brother's rage more as he instead turned his anger to the door, slamming it shut.

Feeling dead on his feet Tadashi dropped himself into his chair. Without making a sound he brought both of his hands up to his face and slowly dragged them down. At least that got his brother out of the way for now. He was sure that Hiro would calm down after a bit, maybe a few days, and things would go back to being somewhat normal. Now all he had to do was worry about Aunt Cass.

He knew he wasn't going to have to lie to her though, she already knew what was going on.

Dropping his arms to the table in front of him he just sat there for a moment as he wondered if it would be at all inappropriate to ask Hiccup if he could stay at his place for a few days till everything settled down a little bit at his own.

(***)

"What in Thor's name are you doing here?" Hiccup snapped, opening the door just wide enough for him to slip through before closing it firmly behind himself. "I'm surprised that you could even get up here."

The man in question simply chuckled softly as he leaned towards the boy, a less then friendly smile on his face as his blue eyes seemed to hold more cold in them then the ice of the arctic.

"Now, now. There's no need to get hostile." He chuckled causing Hiccup's lips to clamp shut in a pinched sort of way. "After all, are we not friends?"

"That's really not what I would call it." The auburn haired male muttered before deciding to ask the real question again. "What are you doing here?"

When he seemed to finally realize that Hiccup wasn't going to play along with him the man's smile fell from his lips before he straightened back up to his full height but didn't bother taking a step back. Hiccup on the other hand firmly crossed his arms over his chest and rested one foot against the door behind him while he waited for his answer.

"I came to inform you of a new job."

At hearing this Hiccup scoffed with a shake of his head. This was just unreal.

"Really? You didn't get the message from the lack of replies to your emails, and phones calls, and messengers that I'm not interested?" He asked with a single eyebrow raised as the corners of his lips twitched upwards. "You need to work on your analyzing skills."

"Perhaps," The man agreed, his voice clipped as his head tilted to one side just the slightest, "but maybe you should think about who you're talking to as well Hiccup. It's not wise to keep a man like me waiting so long." He said as Hiccup rolled his bright green eyes.

"Get over yourself Krei I'm not..."

"Let's try this again." Krei interrupted, his smile back on his face as he drew himself in closer to the boy while the hairs on the back of Hiccup's neck stood on end.

He gasped sharply when a hand was wrapped around his throat with slender but strong fingers. Before he could blink he was pulled out slightly and then slammed back into the door hard enough to make his head spin. His knife slipped from his hand from the impact and Hiccup silently mourned its loss as Krei let out a deep chuckle. Bringing his own hands up to wrap around the one at his throat he felt his shoulders draw up in a hunch as the man swooped in closer, his cold blue eyes being the only thing filling up Hiccup's vision.

"I'm telling you I have a job for you Hiccup, what is your response?"

For a little while longer Hiccup bit his tongue. When the hand tightened more and pushed him up the wall slightly, bringing him to the tips of his toes he finally rasped out his answer.

"W-what the hell do you want?"

A slow, venomous smile spread over the man's lips as he finally let the boy go. Hiccup gasped for air, dropping back to his feet and leaning against the door. Bringing a hand up to rub gently at his throat his lips pulled back to form a snarl.

Had he known how dangerous this man could be he wouldn't have gotten into business with him in the first place. Upon first glimpse Krei was an easy man to overlook. He seemed to be just like any other over paid boss with an army of people to do his dirty work, but after his first few jobs with him Hiccup learned he wasn't nearly as much of a pushover as he let people think.

In order to keep up a good front the man never lifted a finger or a word to anyone of the people that the cameras might be concerned over. Children, parents, anyone working a nine to five job, if they weren't the underbelly of society Krei was an angel and was only ever seen in the good eye of the people. No one ever talked about his mistakes, only few knew him for what he really was.

Hiccup's leg still throbbed in pain some days, even if it was no longer there.

"I suppose that's close enough for now." Krei sighed as he straightened out his suit jacket that didn't seem to be at all disheveled from the walk up the huge amount of stairs and the jumps that he would have to make when there was a lack of them. "I'm assuming that your little, operation, is still running?" He asked, making a scowl come to Hiccup's lips as he tightly crossed his arms over his chest.

"You don't need the rest of my riders. You asked for me, you get only me. Take it or leave it."

Krei just started at him for a long moment, but Hiccup didn't waver any. Just because he was going to work with this guy didn't mean that he had to drag anyone else into the mix as well. In fact the less people he had involved with this guy the better it would be in the end for everyone.

Suddenly however a wicked, closed lipped smile came over the man's face as he leaned forward just the slightest, bringing their faces close once more with a twisted glint in his eyes.

"Are you making an offer?"

Holding back on gagging Hiccup shoved him away to regain some of his lost personal space.

"Just tell me what the job is and get out of here." The boy snapped, his rage only growing when Krei let out a sharp laugh.

"Right, right. Down to business." The man said, brushing some of his stay stands of blond hair behind his ears. "I want you to get something for me."


	11. Chapter 11

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 11

"Hiro, would you mind going to your room for a minute sweetie? I need to talk to your brother alone."

Tadashi's eyes moved up from the plate of food he'd been eating. Placing down his fork that still had a small piece of meat on it he gently swallowed down the food that was already in his mouth. Hiro, who hadn't said a word to either of them since he'd gotten into the house, pushed his untouched plate away from him and got to his feet without looking up from the able. Tadashi frowned as he watched his brother's back as the boy headed up the stairs but slowly turned his attention to his Aunt after a moment.

It's not like he wasn't ready for this talk. He'd been mentally preparing himself for it since this morning. Seeing the frown on her face now Tadashi knew that it probably wasn't going to end well. When she turned her gaze away from her younger nephew at the sound of the door closing the older male sat back in his seat and waited for her to start. .

"So, Hiccup's back?" She asked, dropping her eyes to her plate in a look of nonchalance that made the dark haired male slightly uneasy. "How is he?"

"I know that's not what you really want to ask me." Tadashi muttered, dropping his crossed arms on the table.

Brown eyes watched as her fork worked on mindlessly pushing her food from one side to the other. He watched her breath in deeply before she finally raised her head once more to look at him. There was no sign of weakness or hesitation in her now as her head tilted slightly to the side.

"Fair enough. What have you been up to for the past few weeks Tadashi?" She asked bluntly.

Letting out a bit of a sigh at yet another confrontation Tadashi drummed his hands against the table top for a moment before giving a small shrug of his shoulders.

"Nothing bad Aunt Cass. I swear. It's not like it use to be." He said.

"Really? So you coming home with bruises and staying out all night without telling anyone was normal behavior for you before he came back. I'm sorry if I can't quiet remember that. You'll have to remind me." Her voice was clipped, sharp and the words felt almost like they were trying to attack Tadashi with little sharp points.

Pressing his lips into a flat line he knew that she had a point. He'd been doing such a good job at putting up a good front before Hiccup had come back, but in all honesty he didn't mind it slipping.

"We're not doing anything bad Aunt Cass." He repeated, this time more firmly. "I swear. We're just doing what people my age do."

"Maybe people your age Tadashi, but not you." Cass said with a frown. "You're not the kind of person who goes out and dose these things Tadashi you're..."

"I'm having fun." Tadashi interrupted, his gaze narrowing a little bit more sharply then he intended. "I'm not taking drugs or stealing from people, we're just going out and having fun. Sometimes we even just stay in and go over my text books and bounce ideas off of each other. What's wrong with that?"

"Don't you have your own group to do that with?" She asked, sounding genuinely confused while Tadashi rolled his eyes and let out a long sigh.

"It's not the same thing." He said, trying to make her understand something that he knew she just wouldn't be able to grasp. "Cass please. I promise I'm not doing anything bad. He's, he's changed. We're not getting involved in anything illegal, we're just, I missed him." Tadashi admitted, feeling slightly sheepish in having to say that to someone else.

His Aunt sighed. Leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed over her stomach loosely Tadashi did nothing but watch as her eyes fell to the table.

"Alright. You're old enough to make your own decisions." She said, her shoulders shaking in a light shrug. "But don't forget about your friends or your brother. Poor Hiro has been alone a lot lately and I can see that it's starting to bum him out."

Tadashi had the decency to look down at the table in shame at that. He really didn't mean to be pushing Hiro away so much, but this wasn't really a part of his life that he wanted his little brother knowing about, much less seeing him in and poking his nose around. Maybe he had been a little stingy in his time spent with his little brother though. He couldn't even recall the last time it had been the two of them just hanging out. From how ticked Hiro seemed to be however he doubted that the boy wanted to spend any time with him as of late.

"And I want to know why his mark is on our store window. I understand that you're friends but I would prefer if my company window wasn't vandalized with gang symbols."

Quickly snapping his gaze back up to face her Tadashi quickly shook his head.

"Don't remove that." He warned, his tone causing her eyes to widen if only sightly. "That's the only thing that's been keeping some of the people Hiro's pissed off from destroying this place." He explained.

When she opened her mouth to say something Tadashi quickly continued.

"The first time that I came back covered in bruises was because I had been caught by Yama's men and then dragged to some place by the docks. They were going to come and get you and Hiro later and destroy this place but Hiccup came in and told them that our store is under his protection. If you remove the mark then there's nothing to stop them from thinking that he's no longer interested in this area and they might come back."

"Oh."

It seemed that after finding this out she had nothing better to say on the matter as the consequences of what Hiro had been doing almost on a nightly bases really hit home.

"You two are going to be the death of me." She muttered, her eyes wide in disbelief as they fell to the worn table top of the table. "So he's...helping?" She asked, her brows furrowing together as her gaze slowly moved back up to lock with Tadashi's. "I never would have thought he'd be interested in anything to do with helping me, even if it was to benefit you."

"Hiccup's never hated you Aunt Cass, or Hiro. You've got the wrong idea about him." The older Hamada brother said, leaning forward on his forearms as he shifted in his seat. "He's never held anything but respect for you. I just wish that you could see that." He muttered, shaking his head before running his hand through his hair.

"I don't know him like you do Tadashi, and I highly doubt that he's the kind of person who opens up to other people easily." She said, pulling a scoff from her nephew.

"You need a crowbar just to find out his favorite ice cream flavor." Tadashi admitted while the other let out a slight snicker.

"Would you ever introduce him to the rest of your group?" She asked, and suddenly the smile on Tadashi's face fell.

"No."

He couldn't do that. He'd already come to that conclusion before he'd even seen Hiccup. The last thing he wanted his friends to know about was how wild he use to be, how ruthless and reckless he'd been with not only his own life, but others lives as well. Hey would never be able to look at him the same way again.

Thankfully his Aunt seemed to realize this as she only took in a deep breath and nodded her head in understanding.

"You know, you can't live two lives forever Tadashi." She said, only earning herself a stiff nod of his head.

"I know." He mumbled.

He could already feel his life with Hiccup bleeding into his other one. He could feel it choking out the life that he'd worked so hard to nurture. The worst was that he didn't care. He didn't care if he allowed Hiccup to tare down his carefully built up life as long as he didn't leave. As long as Hiccup stayed by his side he didn't care if his whole world turned black and slipped under his feet. As long as Hiccup was there he didn't care about anything.

When the silence continued his Aunt shifted slightly and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Are you going to see him tonight?" She asked, earning herself nothing much other then a shrug.

"I don't know. I guess it would depend on if he still wants to see me or not." He admitted.

This seemed to catch her interest once again. Tilting her head to the side she gave a slight narrow of her eyes at her older boy and, without words, pressed for him to continue.

"I might have done something a little bit stupid." Tadashi said vaguely as he stood up from his seat. "So I'm not sure if he'll be to interested in seeing me tonight. I've already sent him a text. I'm just waiting for him to get back to me." He said.

Looking back at the much smaller woman, who only seemed to be even smaller since he was standing and she was sitting her turned to her with pleading eyes.

"Please don't tell Hiro about this."

"He's going to find out." She warned him. "You know how Hiro gets when he wants to know something."

Chuckling slightly at the reminder of his brother's stubborn behavior Tadashi nodded his head.

"I know. I just,I just want him to hear it from me first before he hears it from anyone else." He explained. "I don't want to tell him now, but I swear I will. If I don't tell anyone else the one person who should know is Hiro."

"I understand."

Giving her a small smile Tadashi moved the small distance that separated them and wrapped her up in his arms.

"Thanks Aunt Cass."

Really he hadn't expected it to go over so well but he guess that maybe she did understand that he wasn't a child any more and that he needed to go out and make his own mistakes and learn form them. He'd already learned from so many falls that he had before hand just how bad things could get, but it was nice to know that she would be waiting for him no matter how far gone he could get.

(***)

Hiro worked his fingers quickly as he finished sewing up the strap on his brother's bag. The first place that he'd thought of putting it had been in his brother's baseball cap, but Tadashi hadn't been wearing it much lately if the small layer of dust he'd wiped off of it when he'd first picked it up was any indication. So instead he'd moved his attention to his brother's satchel. It seemed to never fail that it was the one item that Tadashi would take with him anywhere.

He had no idea how much longer this conversation with his Aunt and his brother was going to go on for though so he was going to have to act quick. He knew Tadashi would never raise a hand to him, but that didn't mean that he wanted to invoke his brother's wrath by being caught sewing GPS's into his stuff.

Regardless to the fact that this was something Tadashi had done to him countless times before, with the way his brother had reacted to him doing something as simple as going through the names on his contact list he knew that the other would chew him out for this. He just had to know what was going on with his brother. He just had to know hat he was getting involved with and why it was changing him so drastically. This wasn't like Tadashi. None of it was, and it was really starting to worry Hiro.

More then once this week he'd had nightmares of his brother dying or disappearing forever. He could barely handle the thought, he didn't know what to do if it turned into a reality.

Dropping the bag to the floor and fixing it back up like he'd found it Hiro ran across the room and jumped on his bed just as he heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. He just managed to snatch up a comic book laying in his dresser and to flip it open to a random page seconds before the door was opened to reveal Tadashi standing there.

Neither of them spoke to one another as he made his way into the room and closed the door. Hiro carefully peered over the flimsy book in his hands as he took in his brother's movement from across the room.

Apparently the conversation had gone over quiet well with his Aunt. Tadashi's hair wasn't as messed up from running his fingers through it like it would have been if he was stressed. In fact he had an easy, almost giddy smile on his face. The look of pure contentment made Hiro grind his teeth and clench his fingers wrapped around the pages.

He wished that he could look that pleased with himself.

When Tadashi finally looked up at him Hiro shot his gaze downwards. Moving back to the book and mindlessly flipping a page even though he had no idea what he'd even read on the last one.

"Hiro I..."

Before his brother could finish whatever it was he was going to say, and Hiro would have been quiet happy to hear an apology right now, Tadashi's phone went off and interrupted him.

Hiro was starting to hate that phone more and more as the days went by.

Looking over the edge of his book again he watched as Tadashi's own gaze was glued to whatever it was that was written on the screen as a small smile came to his face.

"I'm going to be heading out for the night alright? I'll see you at school tomorrow." Tadashi said, snatching up his bag and moving out the door before Hiro had any chance to speak.

He probably knew that Hiro didn't want to speak to him anyways.

Hiro couldn't help but seething even though he knew that he had a tracking deice on Tadashi, even though he knew that tonight he would finally find out what his brother was up to. He couldn't stop himself from feeling the giant ball in the pit of his stomach that just seemed to burn with rage.

"Gave over Tadashi." He sneered as he got off his bed and pulled out his own phone.

Snatching up his sweater he slipped it on as he watched the blinking dot quickly make it's way to the alleys of Sansfransokyo.

(***)

"What crawled in your ass and died?"

Rolling his eyes at the greeting Hiccup turned to his best friend with a small frown as she made her way over to him.

"Hello to you too Astrid." He muttered, resting his drink on one knee as the other bounced up and down.

Snickering at him the blond flopped down in the seat next to him before throwing her arms up to rest against the back of the couch-like booth.

"I can see you're in a wonderful mood tonight." She said, giving him the fakest looking face of sympathy she could while nodding her head. "What happened?"

Letting out a long sigh Hiccup dropped himself over the top of the table and pretty much all but face planted it. If there was anyone in his group that he knew that he could talk to who would keep their mouth shut it would have to be Astrid. Still, he didn't know if he should tell her that Krei had come to contact him and forced him into another job. She just might break his legs for that, or at least his good one.

So instead he went with the other thing that had been bothering him today.

"Well, I was hanging out with Tadashi last night,"

"Oh boy." Astrid interrupted, making him frown as she swiped his drink and took a swing from it. "Continue. If Tadashi's involved it has to be at least a little bit interesting."

"Ya okay." Hiccup muttered, sitting back up but his shoulders seemed to refuse to straighten from there slumped state. "Well anyways, we went out last night, I thought going for a few drinks would be fun you know, since he hasn't done it in awhile and he seemed to be really stressed. We got into a bit of a competition the second we walked in the door though. I have no idea why we thought that was a good plan but we did. Well fourteen shots later and he was pretty hammered."

"Oh, ouch. I'll say. You can't do that to a light weight Hiccup." Astrid said, a small smile on her face letting him know that she found this to be quiet amusing.

"Ya, I know." Hiccup sighed. In all honesty he was impressed that Tadashi hadn't ended up throwing up much last night. After the first time he seemed okay. "But back to the story. I turned away for about two seconds and low and behold when I turn back he's gone. I ended up finding him on the dance floor." He muttered, a sharp edge coming to his voice when he remembered finding his drunk companion. "He was having a very good time with some dyed haired pretty boy."

"Oo." Astrid snickered, receiving a glare for her input. "I'm sorry." She said coughing in her hand to cover her grin. "Please continue."

"They were just all over each other and I couldn't get them away from one another so I let them be. The guy put his number in Tadashi's phone and then he went to go get a drink. Well when he left I followed him and told him that he had no right to even think he would be worthy of the Riders Edge and he freaked out. He kept saying that he was sorry and that he didn't know. I just let him go with a warning and when I went back to Tadashi he didn't even remember that 'Jack'," Hiccup hissed the name like it burned his tongue to even mutter it, "had been there in the first place. All he said was that he was glad that I was back and asked if I wanted to dance."

"Did you?" Astrid asked as Hiccup felt his cheeks flame up when he remembered the dancing all to well.

"Uh, ya." He said, his voice a lot quieter and much calmer then it had been seconds ago.

Raising a brow at his sudden mood change Astrid gave him a swat to the chest with the back of her hand as a scowl came to her face.

"You didn't do anything weird did you?" She questioned as Hiccup snapped his head around to face her.

"No!" He growled, outraged at the very thought of what she was implying. "Gods no! He was so fucking drunk. I admit that there was some stuff going on but that was all from him. I didn't respond to it and after it happened a few to many times I just dragged him back home and put him to bed." He confirmed while she gave a nod of her head.

"Good."

"I'm insulted that you of all people would think that I would take advantage of someone who was drunk." He frowned as she gave him a soft smile.

"I know Hic, and I know that you wouldn't but you have kinda liked the guy for a while. I was hoping that you weren't just going to, you know, 'go with the flow of things'." She said as he gave a roll of his eyes.

"Ya no. I would prefer if we were both well aware of what was going on thank you very much." He said as he reached over and stole his bottle back, taking a swing of his own.

His eyes grew wide before he finished taking a sip. Nearly slamming the bottle on the table in front of him his whole body snapped around to face the startled blond as his mouth opened to make a perfect 'o' shape.

"He kissed me."

Astrid's thin brows only pulled together as her eyes squinted in confusion for a moment why she nodded her head.

"Ya, you implied that."

"No, no, no." Hiccup said with a wave of his hands, nearly knocking his bottle over in the process. "I mean when he was sober, well kind of sober, he was hungover but he knew what was going on and whatnot. The following morning when he got up he was running around because of all the messages from his friends and what not and I was walking him to the door and before he slipped out he kissed me."

"Smooth."

Hiccup felt his face only growing redder at the smirk across his friend's face before he slumped back in his seat.

"Hm, only not so much now." The boy sighed, reaching out and snatching up his beer again to take another gulp.

"Why not?" Astrid asked, crossing her arms over her chest as Hiccup dropped his head in his hands.

"This...complicates things." He said after a moment of silence.

His response only made the girl roll her eyes. Without asking for his permission she snatched up his phone and quickly typed in the password. Hiccup let her be, she had a habit of stealing his phone quiet a bit to play games and look things up anyways.

"Life's complicated Hiccup. Suck it up and take this step forward like a man." She mumbled shoving his phone back at him. "There, he'll be here in no time flat."

Snapping straight up Hiccup ripped the phone from where it had fallen on the seat in between his legs and slid it back open to look at his sent messages. He felt his skin go cold at the sight of the message sent to Tadashi, with a winky face at the end no less.

Hey, let's me up tonight at the Dragons Den. I've got some stuff we've gotta talk about. ;)

"Shit."

He'd seen Tadashi's earlier message. He'd been just asking him how his day had been and if he'd managed to get any sleep, but Hiccup had been to nervous to message back to even that. It was weird how he could make most of the powerful men in this city crumble and shake with just the mere mention of his name, and yet just one message from Tadashi after a quick peck hours earlier filled him with dread and made him queasy. It was kind of pathetic actually and he couldn't believe how much he'd sunk this low in such a short amount of time.

Glaring at the completely fake and sickeningly sweet smile of his best friend he narrowed his gaze at her as she simply lifted her chin in triumph.

"Thanks for nothing." He grumbled.

This did cause her to let out a puff of air as she gave him a sharp and brutal punch to the arm.

"Oh suck it up drama queen. He likes you, you like him, stop making things complicated and just go for it already okay?" She said stealing his bottle and taking another swing. "Anyways if you're done acting like a heart giddy troll, I have some things I want to go over with you about the next shipment before he gets here."

Upon hearing this Hiccup sat up once more and any other thought he had was pushed to the back of his mind.

"What about it?" He asked.

"Well, I've been monitoring the docks for the past few days and it seems that we may have a bit of a problem. Yama hasn't been to discreet lately about his own shipment and the police have strengthened their patrols as well as placing an on site SWAT truck filled with about ten members, because of this. They've already busted about three of his shipments in the past week and there are whispers that soon the Chief is going to put more men on the ground." She said while Hiccup felt his lips press firmly together.

"That's not like him." He muttered while she nodded in agreement. "I've noticed that the same thing seems to be happening with Dagur on the far end of the docks. Normally they can't get anything on either of them, why all of a sudden are they both slipping?"

"My guess is because of you." Astrid hissed out, her gaze narrowing while she clenched the bottle so tightly in her hands Hiccup could hear it crack. "I asked Fishlegs to hack into the police reports on all of the raids done on Yama, we could have him do the same to Dagur too. The merchandise lost by Yama is barely anything, but it's enough to be noticed. I think they both might be doing this to try and make it harder for us to do our jobs without being caught."

Hiccup clicked his tongue as he took in the information. They were trying to get him out without getting their hands dirty. They knew that they couldn't take him on so they were setting up a trap. How cute. Although the fact that this had been found out by Astrid and not him irked him some. It showed just how much he'd been lacking in the Riders Edge if he hadn't been the first one to catch what was going on. He'd just been reading Dagur's report this morning, Astrid had been going over this for days.

"I guess we're going to have to remind them just who they're trying to set up." He muttered as a smirk pulled over the girls lips.

"Reading you loud and clear Fury. I'll get the rest of the group and we'll pay both parties a little bit of a visit." She agree as she went to stand up.

When Hiccup went to follow her she just laughed and shoved him back down into the privet booth.

"I don't think so Romeo. You've got a date tonight."

Mouth gaping open Hiccup tried to protest but came up blank as she drowned the rest of his drink.

"Me and the others have this. I'll message you when we're done."

Nodding his head and seeing no real reason to argue Hiccup held up his hand to her.

"Make it fast and brutal, if you need help don't hesitate to call me Storm."

Her smile vanishing she grasped a hold of his hand in a firm lock and gave a curt nod.

"Souls of dragons." She muttered.

"Souls of dragons."


	12. Chapter 12

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 12

By the time he manage to get there the crowd had grown quiet thick. It made Tadashi thankful that once the bouncer had seen him she'd called Tadashi to the front and let him in before everyone else. No one had anything to say about it either and allowed themselves to be cut before without a fuss. He hadn't realized that he'd been hanging out with Hiccup enough to be noticed by so many people.

The thought moved to the back of his head as soon as he entered into the building.

The music was loud enough to make his bones shake and for his heart to hammer in time to the beat that was playing over the monstrous speakers. Strobe lights were flashing in different colors of blues, greens, yellow, reds, and pinks, disorienting the already somewhat chaotic atmosphere.

He knew that Hiccup wouldn't be on the dance floor until he got there, and he wasn't a big fan of hanging out around the bar while everyone was shoving at each other and screaming in people's ears in order to buy yet another drink. He'd probably pulled himself over to the side. He wouldn't be at any of the booths that were just set up for everyone though, no, he'd be in the quieter section in the VIP area until he felt like join in on the fun.

Although Tadashi highly doubted that their conversation was going to be all that fun. Sure there had been a winky face at the end of the message that Hiccup had sent him, but knowing Hiccup that could have just been to lull him into a false sense of security so he could hit him that much harder. Then again while that was something he would do to his enemies Tadashi didn't believe that Hiccup would ever do that to him.

As he walked up to the area that had been cut off from the rest of the crazy dance floor and hyper bodies, a giant of a man looked Tadashi up and down. Whatever he was looking for he seemed to find it as he nodded his head and dropped his gaze to the ground and moved out of the others way. Tadashi didn't bother saying a quick thank you as he ducked passed. He knew the guy would have just felt like a show of gratitude was just him being smug anyways.

His eyes scanned around the low lit area that had built in booths made of dark wood and deep blood red leather seats. With the floor as black marble it really did give off the feeling of stepping into a den of a mighty beast and Tadashi couldn't help chuckling a little bit over the fact that this might have been the very reason that Hiccup chose this place to frequent. The guy had always been a little geeky about dragons, Tadashi thought the idea of him choosing this place because of it's name was a little adorable.

Walking passed the mostly empty tables Tadashi continued on his search. It didn't take him to much longer, he knew that Hiccup mostly chose the ones in the back and made his way over their to confirm his suspicions.

"So you wanted to talk about something?"

He got a little satisfaction when the auburn haired male jumped, nearly chocking on his drink as Tadashi slid into the place in front of him. Patiently he watched and waited for Hiccup to get his breathing back under control and to relax a little bit as he waited for his answer.

"Ah, ya I...um, that is..."

Tadashi raised a brow as the boy stumbled over his words. He was trying to appear nonchalant, waving his hands around a little bit after he'd placed his drink down, but Tadashi wasn't really buying it. This wasn't like Hiccup though, he was normally very 'to the point', he hated beating around the bush. Then again Tadashi was also shocked at how well he was taking this so far. Normally he would be the one freaking out and trying to fumble his way around the conversation.

"About this morning." Hiccup forced out quickly, his eyes locking on Tadashi's even though the bright red of his cheeks gave away the fact that he'd rather look anywhere but.

At hearing those words the slightly taller male took in a deep breath and held it for a moment. It's not that he was going to avoid the subject forever, but he really hadn't come up with anything to say about it either.

"I'm sorry." He muttered, his own deep brown orbs dropping to the table as he lightly drummed his thumbs over the glossy table top. "What I did this morning... I wasn't thinking Hic, sorry."

It was silent for a few moments, not enough to get awkward, but long enough that the clam feeling that Tadashi had before was slowly fading.

"Maybe..." Hiccup muttered out slowly, drawing the others gaze back up.

Bright green orbs locked with his and Tadashi carefully studied his face. His brows were pinched together and his mouth was forming a small frown, his shoulders remained relaxed though as his arms were placed on the table. He could feel dread gathering up in his stomach strong enough to make him feel sick as he waited for the next words.

'Maybe we shouldn't hangout anymore' was what he just knew that Hiccup was going to say. 'Maybe we should just forget it' he was sure would be even worse.

As the seconds just ticked by Tadashi could feel his heart pound in his chest harder and harder until it felt like it was going to burst right out and bare itself to Hiccup to do as he wished with.

"you should think a little less more often."

Blinking at the words that ended up slipping out of the others mouth Tadashi didn't know what to make of it. Was Hiccup really suggesting what he thought he was? The longer he made Hiccup wait for his response though the more frigidity Fury seemed to get as he brought his arms back to fall in his lap and push himself into the plush seat behind him. Seeing that his chance was slipping away from him Tadashi felt his mind jump into action as Hiccup ran a hand through his hair.

"Or not you know. We could ju..."

Hiccup didn't get to finish his sentence, and Tadashi didn't get to act upon his impulses as another man wordlessly slid himself into the booth right next to Tadashi.

"Hello brother." The man greeted, a wide, demented smile coming to his face and setting Tadashi's nerves on end.

Turning his honey brown orbs towards the auburn haired male he could tell from the narrowed gaze of Hiccup's eyes that this guy was not someone Hiccup would ever consider giving that title to. Not knowing what else to do however he didn't open his mouth to question the new arrival on it. He didn't know if it was the patchy beard or maybe the giant scar that covered most of the right side of his face, or maybe even the off look in his eyes, but he could tell there was something about this guy that not only did Tadashi not like, but seemed completely unstable.

Without being signaled to, Tadashi sat back with his arms resting against the back of the booth and simply watched and waited for whatever was going to happen.

Hiccup appreciated his choice as his bright green gaze locked with Tadashi's for a moment in gratitude before they narrowed back at the man with the flaming red hair.

"Dagur." Hiccup greeted, his tone flat as his words were accompanied by a slight raise of his brow. "What do you want?"

His question made the man laugh, a light sounding noise at first, before it got choppier and louder, almost as if he was gasping for air and choking at the same time. When he stopped he wiped a tear out of his eye and gave the boy a smile full of teeth.

"Now, why must I need something in order to talk to my brother?" He asked, intertwining his fingers together and holding them before his lopsided smirk. "Maybe I just felt like keeping you company."

"I already have company." Hiccup said, his gaze narrowing even more as his arms crossed firmly over his chest. "And our relationship is strictly business." He reminded, causing the guy's smirk to fall into an opened mouthed frown.

"Ugh." Dagur muttered, dropping his arms to his sides and his head back as if Hiccup was being unreasonable. "Why must you continuously deny this bond that we share?"

Raising a single brow Tadashi glanced over at his friend to watch as Hiccup rolled his eyes before raising his hands to rub at his temples.

"We don't share a bond Dagur." He muttered, his words laced with anger.

His tone reminded Tadashi of a parent who had been scolding a child for the same thing over and over again for years and was finally on the breaking point. While the thought brought some amusement to him he couldn't find it in himself to smile while shifting his watchful eyes back to the man sitting beside him.

"Oh Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup." Dagur sighed.

Tadashi felt his lips pull back in a snarl and his body stiffen from its relaxed state when not even seconds later the man had slammed his large hands against the table top. The hit had so much impact that Hiccup's bottle shook from side to side violently before finally toppling over and snapping the neck off in jagged pieces.

"You'll see it sometime brother. I know you will."

Tadashi went to get to his feet, finally having enough of this guy and his behavior. Hiccup on the other hand seemed to have different ideas as he stilled the Asian male with one look. Forcing himself to relax once more Tadashi pressed his lips into a thin line, he knew better than to go against Hiccup's words regardless of how much he wanted to. Besides, this Dagur guy was from Hiccup's world, and just like Tadashi kept Hic out of his world, Hiccup had every right to keep Tadashi out of his.

"You know Dagur," Hiccup said slowly, making sure that he had the others attention before he continued, "I couldn't help but notice that your security on your shipments seemed to be- lacking, as of late."

Shipments hm? Well, at least he had some idea as to what Hiccup did when he wasn't around now. Not that he really cared but it was a question he had been wondering about for some time.

At hearing what the boy said, Dagur frowned. His shoulders seemed to tense as he rolled them back and sat himself up even straighter than before.

"Well you know, there have been complications."

Even though his voice wasn't as loud or as sharp as it had been just moments ago, Tadashi still felt unnerved by the mere sound of it. There was something just so unsettling about this guy, even if his words were said with such a casual air.

Hiccup let out a scoff from his end, his face no longer angry as it just instead showed a look of disbelief. He was obviously use to this guy's behavior and therefore didn't seem to care about the odd way his moods shifted back and forth almost interchangeably and with a snap of a finger.

"Yes, if you could attend to that, 'complication' now so I can get back to my own business, it would be nice."

When he was reminded once again about Tadashi's existence Dagur finally spared a quick look in his direction. He snorted his disapproval at the others presence, but didn't comment on it. Tadashi narrowed his eyes at the side view of Dagur's head, not appreciating being written off so easily. Still, he finally seemed to get the hint as he moved himself from the booth and stood at the edge of the table.

"It saddens me to leave you in such inferior company brother, but I will be back." Dagur said, purposely turning his back to Tadashi while the dark haired male felt his stomach twist in a small amount of rage.

"Actually the inferior company is just leaving." Hiccup said, a smirk pulling at his lips while a scowl crossed the others face.

Tadashi couldn't help the snicker that slipped passed his lips at that and Dagur finally tossed a look over his shoulder in order to glare at him properly. Not even a moment later and the boy's laughter was cut off when he saw Dagur's arm snap out and snatch up the broken beer bottle neck. He was quicker than Tadashi would have thought a man of his size could move, but even so he still managed to grab a hold and stop the others wrist before the object made a comfortable home in the side of his neck.

Neither one said a word to each other, brown meeting green in a show of dominance that neither would back down to. Shoving the hand away from him Tadashi didn't remove his eyes from the red head's face as a twisted grin came across his features. the tight skin of his scars didn't allow for much movement from one side which only added to the demented look of it.

"Very nice." He purred, and Tadashi could have sworn he felt his skin crawl.

Without another word the man left with a large smirk over his face and with an air that warned everyone to move out of his way.

Scowling Tadashi settled himself back into the booth, his eyes following the stranger until he was out of sight. Moving his gaze back to Hiccup he raised a dark brow when he noticed that the auburn haired male was watching him.

"Nice guy." He finally muttered, knowing that there was no way they would be able to go back to the conversation they were having before hand. "You find him in the loony bin?"

"You okay?"

His question caught Tadashi a little off guard. Slowly he could feel his anger at Dagur that he was aiming at Hiccup fall away until he was calm again.

"Well considering the guy just tried to cut my throat I'd say I'm fine." He shrugged. "It's not the worst thing that's ever happened to me while hanging out with you. I still remember that one time..."

"Where you nearly got shot?" Hiccup asked, his lips twitching upwards as he pushed the broken pieces of the bottle out of his way. "I didn't know you could scream so loud."

"Hey." Tadashi snapped, feeling the need to defend himself as he pointed a finger at the smirk that Hiccup was giving him. "At least I wasn't the one who wouldn't eat mango's for a year because of being knocked out by one."

The smirk was gone from the boy's face as he lit up bright red, sputtering out nonsense while trying to come up with something for that one. Knowing it was his time to gloat Tadashi stuck his tongue out at Hiccup playfully and allowed the boy to lick his wounded pride without further taunting.

Chuckling softly to himself he sat back in his seat as his eyes slowly drifted to the table.

He didn't really know what to talk about other than the giant ass elephant in the room. Their moment for that had come and gone though and Tadashi highly doubted that they were going to get another moment to talk about it again any time soon. Until than he was sure that they were going to be haunted by the cloud of awkwardness until one of them finally broke under the tension.

"Do I even want to know what you're shipping?" He asked eventually, his eyes raising again to see that Hiccup was staring at the low hanging, dimly lit chandelier over their table.

"Not humans." Hiccup responded vaguely, not once removing his gaze from where it seemed to be fixed.

Tadashi gave a small nod of his head. That was a good enough answer. He couldn't really say he cared about getting much else shipped as long as Hiccup wasn't trading people. He highly doubted that he was dealing with guns or the like either. It just didn't really seem his style.

"How's bubble bot doing?" Hiccup asked back, finally dropping his gaze down with his eyes at half mass.

He looked so relaxed that Tadashi was actually finding it hard to want to remain awake just by looking at him. He'd hadn't realized until now but he was actually quiet tired. Regardless to the fact that he'd spent most of the day sleeping he still felt completely worn out. Looking at Hiccup now he couldn't help but wonder if he felt the same.

"Haven't worked on it much to be honest." He finally replied when he realized that time was slinking by without his answer. "What about you? How's Toothless doing?"

Hiccup seemed to perk up a little at this as he leaned forward, his eyes growing wide again as he tapped his finger against the polished table top.

"Actually I'm having some problems with it." He admitted while Tadashi felt himself waking up once more.

They finally seemed to click back into one another again, the awkwardness of the last few minutes melting away as Hiccup scooted closer to the table and started making wild hand gestures to accompany his words. Tadashi couldn't help but grin at the adorableness of it as the boy's excitement spread to him to over the new ideas he had to upgrade Toothless.

Hiro glanced around the corner once more, just waiting for his brother to come back out. He'd already tried getting in, but he'd been thrown out by the bouncers and than every place that he tried to sneak in through was heavily guarded. This place had to be one of the most well guarded buildings in all of Sansfransokyo, which he found to be a little odd since it was just supposed to be a dance club or something.

So now he was just left outside, waiting for Tadashi to come out and maybe see what he was up to. Glancing back down at his phone he frowned when he saw that his brother still hadn't moved from his spot. It had been over half an hour and Tadashi had just stayed in one place the entire time. Obviously he wasn't dancing or else the little dot would have been moving from side to side at the very least. No one was freaking out however and he assumed they would have if Tadashi had been killed.

That must have meant that Tadashi was meeting someone here though, and not to have fun with, but to just sit and talk. Just what was his brother up to? He hadn't gotten involved in the shadier part of things had he? He'd been acting really off lately and if he was it wouldn't have surprised Hiro any, but it just didn't feel like something his older brother would do. Than again when he'd been talking to Hiro about how he knew just what kid of people roamed the underbelly of their home city it did bring up questions.

He couldn't help not being able to shake the feeling at the idea that those words had come from first hand experience. He'd been three when their parents had died, Tadashi would have been around nine or ten. If he'd somehow managed to get involved in a lot of stuff before Hiro could remember than that would explain it. The only one who really would have been able to answer his theories though would either be Aunt Cass or Tadashi himself.

Sighing as he glanced around the corner again Hiro grumbled lowly under his breath as he took another glance at his phone to check the time.

It was nearing twelve now.

Just how long was Tadashi going to stay in there for?

Hiro jumped, ducking back behind the wall when he heard a familiar laugh coming from the front of the club. Peering around the corner he felt his brows crawl upwards as he saw his brother standing next to someone he didn't recognize.

There was something dark about this guy. Something dirty and standoffish. Hiro had dealt with a lot of lowlifes in his bot fighting days, he could tell which people he could get away with murder from and which people would have no problem getting away with his murder. This guy seemed like the lather.

Yet there was his brother, laughing along with whoever this stranger was and grinning at him as if he was the best thing in the world.

Hiro could feel his stomach drop when he realized that people were looking at Tadashi much like he was looking at whoever the hell stood next to him. In fact they both seemed to have that air as people scurried out of their way and avoided eye contact to the point of keeping their entire head tilted towards the ground.

Just what was his brother doing behind all of their backs?

Pushing the thought aside for later Hiro quickly fumbled with his phone until he finally managed to bring up the camera app. Holding his phone just around the corner he zoomed into the one guy's face and quickly snapped a picture.

Ducking back around he looked at the quality. It was a little fuzzy around the edges and dark but it was late at night and there was no way he was using the flash. Taking a closer look he could make out their hair color and their face. They had really nice green eyes...that were staring right at him.

Hiro felt a full body shutter go through him at what was swimming in the depths of those eyes. It was something ghostly and hunting, as if he'd been alive for thousands of years and seen more than his fair share of death and tragedy.

Hiro just knew he was going to have nightmares of those eyes for a long time.

When he looked up again he nearly let out a scream upon seeing those eyes right up close and personal. Barely a gasp could slip passed his lips let alone a scream when the guy's hand shot out and clamped down over his mouth, pressing him firmly into the sharp brink behind him. Acting upon instinct Hiro felt his whole body tensing up, his shoulders meeting his ears as his hands seemed frozen in their place by his rib cage.

"Hello Hiro." The stranger cooed softly, making the boy's blood run cold as his eyes blew open even wider. "You know, it's not nice to stalk people." He chuckled, snatching the boy's phone out from between his fingers easily with his free hand.

Hiro could barely hear this guy's words over his own pounding heart. He wanted to believe that if this guy was friends with Tadashi than there was no way that he would hurt his little brother. But something kept nagging the back of his mind that he had no idea what was going on with Tadashi lately and even less about the people he was now hanging out with. He had no idea what this guy was capable of doing to him.

Thankfully the guy seemed more interested in going through his phone than inflicting pain upon him. Staying silent for once in his life Hiro just watched as the blue glow washed over the others face, showing the look of boredom across his features. After another few moments the guy smiled, clicking the phone off and tapping the tip of Hiro's nose with the edge.

"Good little boy's shouldn't be out this late alone."

Hiro gasped for breath when the hand was dropped from his mouth. Without the hand holding him against the side of the wall anymore he slumped forward slightly, his shoulders curling in on himself as his mouth felt as if it was suddenly dry. He couldn't call out even if he wanted to.

The guy said nothing else, just reached out, ruffled his hair and than turned and walked away.

When he'd gone back around the corner Hiro slowly sunk to his knees. His breathing was hard and ragged as his heart jumped like a rabbit in its confinements. Out of all of the people he'd ever seen, out of all of the ones that he'd ever run into no one ever had such a strong effect on him before. He had always been good at shrugging anyone off or lipping them regardless of who they were. That stranger? There was just something about him that was extremely unsettling. Something that warned him to watch his mouth and to not needlessly piss them off.

Looking down at his phone Hiro quickly checked out a few things. His photo had been deleted, and his tracking system kept showing that the dot wasn't moving and that it was right where he was. Quickly patting himself down Hiro found it in the pocket of his hood and pulled out the tiny little GPS. How had that guy gotten this out without ripping Tadashi's bag? When he'd caught a glimpse of Tadashi's bag before hand there hadn't been any tare anywhere in sight around the place where he'd hidden the object.

From his kneeling position Hiro glanced around the wall again.

The guy was walking up to his brother, although Tadashi seemed to be a bit confused the brown haired devil seemed to get him in a good mood again with just a few words. After a moment Tadashi nodded and they were both heading back in the direction they had been heading before.

This was bad. This wasn't something he was going to be able to do on his own. It was time he got everyone else together and talked about this. Tadashi was in trouble, and he probably didn't even realize that he was.


	13. Chapter 13

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 13

_Tadashi scowled lightly as he watched Fury trying to wrap his knee. They really should have been more careful on their run tonight but of course they had thought that they were getting close to invincible and had taken a stupid risk. Seeing the outcome of it now he knew they were both going to have to think their plans through a lot more if either of them were hoping to live to see fifteen.

He couldn't hold back on sighing when Fury's hand slipped yet again and loosened the bandages up once more. As he walked over to the smaller male he earned himself a hard glare for his tiny outburst, but that didn't bother him at all as he knelled down right in front of the boy.

"Here, let me do it." He mumbled, going to grab the bandages only to be whacked away.

"I can do it on my own." Fury said, taking a hold of the end piece and starting over.

Deciding to sit back and wait until the boy finally admitted that he needed help Tadashi rocked back and landed on his butt, placing his chin against his palm as he just watched. Fury grumbled slightly at his choice but didn't comment any further on it as he placed all of his attention on trying to do it perfectly for the fifth time.

"How can you even suck this bad at it?" Tadashi asked, his brow raising as Fury jumped at the sound of his voice.

When his question caused the boy's concentration to be broken, leading to his fingers slipping, Fury's slowly raised his gaze up to glare at him. Tadashi just stared back at him, his eyes holding nothing but innocence as his brows were raised slightly.

"What?"

"Okay, screw it." Fury snarled, tossing the bandage wrap to the ground in a huff as he got to his feet, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. "It doesn't matter anyways. It'll heal in a little bit."

Rolling his eyes Tadashi placed one of his hands right behind the boy's knee and jerked it forward. Caught off guard the auburn haired male let out a sharp yelp as his other knee buckled as well and he toppled back over to sit on the wooden box again. While he was still to shocked and disoriented to do much Tadashi quickly scooped up the wrap and started to work on his knee.

They fell into a silence as Fury did and said nothing, just watched him while he leaned back on his hands. Taking only a few minutes as apposed to Fury's hour, Tadashi quickly tied it off and patted the side of his partner in crimes leg.

"There you go, it should be good as new in a week or two." He said, a rare smile coming to his face as he admired his handie work.

"You know," Fury said slowly, drawing the deep brown eyes away from his leg and towards the boy's bright green orbs, "you have quiet a knack for fixing people up. You could be a doctor or something."

Chuckling at that comment Tadashi just shook his head as he stood back up.

"I don't think bandaging a leg is all that hard. A moron could do it." He said.

Thinking about what words he'd used he quickly dropped his eyes to a very unamused Fury.

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Ya, ya." Fury muttered, giving a wave of his hand as he rolled his eyes upwards. "I just meant, you know, if you ever decide to do something different than you could always become a doctor or something."

At that Tadashi pulled a funny face. What on earth was he talking about? Why would Tadashi ever want to do anything different? As long as Fury was around he was going to be sticking by his side. He didn't need anything else.

"If I were to do anything," he said after a moment, scooping up all the wasted bandages and dirty cotton swabs, "it would be something to do with robots."

Fury hummed, his feet swinging back and forth as Tadashi moved to dump everything in a nearby dumpster.

"Why not do something with both?" He asked, drawing Tadashi's attention once more. "You could build a robot nurse or something."

Tadashi just let out a bark of laughter at that, getting a glare from the other as he chucked the roll of gaze at his head.

"Okay, fine asshole." He growled bitterly, his mood doing nothing to dampen Tadashi's.

"Could you imagine?" Tadashi asked, his eyes screwed shut to keep the tears from flowing down them. "It could be a giant thing that just followed you around!You could have your own personal nurse to attend to your accident prone habits!"

Hiccup tackled him not even seconds later._

Tadashi just continued staring up at Baymax, his mind completely zoned out to what he was really supposed to be doing. Until just now he'd forgotten that Hiccup was one of the reasons that he'd started building Baymax after the boy had been taken away. It had been back in the first few months that they had known each other. It was before Hiccup had become the dark kind of person he was today, back when he could still see some of the good things in life and could trust at least a little more than a handful of people. Back when he still believed that maybe someday, he could have a normal life and could help people.

It was a path that they had always laughed at, never seeing it within reach. It was a path that Tadashi had decided to follow after Hiccup had been sent away. It was a path he knew Hiccup thought was blocked from himself. It was the path that Tadashi couldn't help wonder if he had shoved the boy off of so long ago.

As he continued to sit there and think about what a happy little child Hiccup use to be he couldn't help but wonder if someone had helped Hiccup find the right path, what he would be doing now. The guy was smart, there was no doubt about that, and as much as he disliked people, he did have a way with them. He was a natural born leader and filled with ideas and knowledge that would have been very useful in Tadashi's kind of field.

He just had a feeling that it wouldn't be a good idea to bring this up with Hiccup. He knew Hiccup would excel in his school. He would blow the professors away and he would be able to help out the world so much. That being said if he told Hiccup he should join the school, if he even hinted at the thought, he knew that he would take it the wrong way. He would laugh and tell Tadashi he had no use of it, after all no one would hire him with his record. He would yell at Tadashi and say that he was rubbing it in his face since they both knew it could never really happen. Worse yet, he could say nothing. He could remain silent with the unspoken lie that Tadashi didn't think he was good enough to have around much longer since he didn't go. He would disappear off the face of the earth and be gone like mist in the wind. Tadashi would never see him again.

Baymax blinked back down at him. His head tilting to the side and Tadashi just knew that he had been scanned.

"Tadashi, my scans tell me that you are upset." Baymax said, his voice making Tadashi chuckle as he rolled his shoulders back while the smallest of smiles crossed over his face. "Talking about your problems is a great way to improve ones mood. Would you care to talk about what is on your mind?"

Shaking his head, Tadashi got to his feet.

"No thanks pal." He sighed.

Shaking the darker thoughts from his mind he turned his focus to the guy he'd met last night. Dagur was unstable, that was a given from just one glance at the guy, but he had a certain kind of brutal intelligence to him as well. It was like he knew more than he let on, like he could see into a person and figure out what their next more would be. Tadashi had an odd feeling that the red head wasn't really going to try and kill him last night, he just wanted to see what the Asian male could do. It was almost like some kind of test that Tadashi had no idea if he passed or failed on and was waiting to find out.

What he really wanted to know though was how Hiccup could bother dealing with him at all.

His mind drifted away from that and towards his brother. Hiro had been acting really weird since this morning, or at least weirder than he had been lately. For one he actually started talking to Tadashi again, and not in just the grumbling kind of he had to talk to him to get something done kind of way. He was bright and happy and pulling Tadashi along by the arm as he explained how his project was going and what he was planning to do next. He was acting how he had been before all of the past few weeks had happened.

Once they had gotten in Hiro had rounded up the rest of their group and said that they all had to go out and get coffee. When Tadashi had made a move to go with them however Hiro had told him he wasn't allowed to because he had to much work to catch up on but that he would bring him something back from their trip.

At the time Tadashi had just kind of shrugged it off. Hiro was right after all, Tadashi did have a lot of catching up to do if he ever wanted to get his assignment done in time, but now that he was thinking back on it Hiro had been acting a little off. It made Tadashi wonder why all of them needed to go for a coffee run when just sending one or two people with a list would have been just as well.

He couldn't help but feel like something was clawing at the back of his mind. Something that was trying to warn him of what they could be planning. Forcefully he shook it off. These guys were his best friends, their was no way they were somehow plotting against him.

(***)

"You did what?" Gogo asked, a fist on her hip as her other arm dangled by her side, her purple shadowed eyes narrowing sharply at Hiro.

"I put a tracking device on Tadashi." Hiro said for the second time.

He could do nothing other than watch the different emotions across his friends faces. Some of them looked a bit worried, others seemed to be on the verge of panic, some of them smiled at him as if what he'd done had been ballsy and they approved. Gogo seemed to be the only one that was less then amused.

"Hiro you know..."

"He did it to me all of the time!" Hiro yelled out, interrupting Gogo before she could finish.

"Well, that's true." Wasabi said, making all eyes turn to him as he quickly shut his mouth again from the seething glare that he got from the purple streaked girl.

Turning her attention back to the other shortest member of their group she firmly crossed her arms over her chest.

"That's because he had to go and save your ass when you got in trouble, not because he was using it to stalk you and peek in on your privet life."

Hiro had nothing to say on that one. She was right, but he'd never really thought of it that way before. For a quarter of a second he actually felt somewhat guilty. Stalking his brother wasn't the right thing to do and he had no right to tamper with Tadashi's stuff so he could see what his older brother clearly didn't want him to. This had nothing to do with the tracker he put on Tadashi though, but it did have everything to do with what it lead to.

Shaking his head and his arms quickly back and forth Hiro continued on, moving the conversation away from the trackers.

"That's not the point guys." He said quickly, wondering just how much time he had to talk to them before Tadashi would get suspicious. "The point is who I saw him with and where."

"Oo! With Miss. Scarlet in the library!" Fred shouted out suddenly, pointing a finger towards the boy in victory.

"What are you talking about?" Wasabi asked, his brows drawing together as he slowly shook his head.

"What? It's always Miss. Scarlet in the library." Fred confirmed as Honey raised a brow at him.

"Are you talking about Clue?" She asked, earning herself a firm head nod.

"I always got Professor Plum in the Dinning room." Gogo put in, popping her gum as Wasabi raised his hand.

"Coronal Mustered in the kitchen."

"Guys!" Hiro groaned, dropping his head in his hands. "We're not talking about Clue." He hissed, drawing all of their attention back to him. "I saw him with some weird guy at Dragons Den and when I got a picture of him he somehow saw me do it. He came up to me and took my phone and deleted he picture and placed my own tracker on me." He explained quickly, not noticing the looks that each of them shared with each other since he was already pacing around the dirty back alley he'd lead them all down. "There's something really off about this guy, I can tell." He grumbled, coming to a sudden halt and turning on his heels to face his friends. :I'm worried about my brother."

A silence fell over the group. No one speaking as the older members each seemed to be thinking of a different opinion in their minds, trying to piece together what was going on with their friend lately with what little information they had. Gogo was the first one to take action as she tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes in thought.

"What did this guy look like?"

Thinking back to the guy he'd seen in the darkness the night before, Hiro felt himself shutter as he tried to explain it and remember anything other than the soul piercing green eyes.

"He was about Tadashi's height," he mumbled slowly, not wanting to get any of the descriptions wrong, "maybe just a little shorter, but not by much. Long kinda brownish, redish hair I think? He was built somewhat similar to Tadashi too, you know, a little lanky looking?" That part of the description pulled a snicker from everyone other than Gogo. "He had really bright green eyes." Hiro said lastly, his eyes locking on Gogo's as her own narrowed. "They reminded me of monsters."

He watched as Gogo, popped her gum while her eyes were glued to him one more time, before she broke her concentration. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out her cell phone and quickly looked something up on it.

"Is this him?" She asked, all of their friends showing shock upon their faces at her quick recolonization of someone from the description.

Hiro stared at her for a moment, wondering if it was who he saw, just how she knew him. As his eyes moved to the picture on the large hand held device he could feel them going wide upon seeing the guy he'd seen last night upon it.

"That's him!" He shouted, pointing a finger in the face of the picture. "That's the guy!"

"Fuck."

Everyone's eyes were now on Gogo at the curse she let slip by while her own eyes moved to the picture in her hands.

"Hiro's right, this is bad."

"What's wrong Gogo? He looks pretty cute to me." Honey said, a small smile on her painted lips as she looked down at the picture. "Maybe they're dating." She suggested as Fred quickly nodded his head.

"Yes! And since he didn't think that we would approve he decided to keep it hidden from us so that we..."

"That's Night Fury." Gogo muttered.

The tone of her voice made everyone hush again, but they all just glanced at her. As they took turns looking at each other Hiro could tell that they had no idea who 'the Night Fury' was either. When he glanced down at the girl's hand he could see the slight shake she had and how pale her face had gotten. Who ever this guy was, if he could scare Gogo this bad than Hiro was honestly freaking out.

"Who is he Gogo?"

His voice was soft, but even so it made her jump, her shoulders jolsting up to her ears for a split second. She opened her mouth, her brows drawing together as her lips were forming a pinched 'o' shape. When she placed her phone back in her pocket he felt a stone drop in his stomach as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"I, um..." She started, stumbling over her words and shocking the rest of the group into wide eyed stares. "He..." As she trailer off again her head dropped forward, her shoulders rolling in while her lips pressed together tightly.

Hiro could feel his panic settling in as he watched the strongest member of their group breaking down from just a mere memory.

"Before I came here," She said, clearing her throat out as she lifted her head back up, "I was from New York." Only some members nodded as if they knew this information all ready. "Back than I was a bike deliverer for a shipping company." She explained as Hiro nodded his head quickly, wondering where this was going. "After about a month of working there I was going to drop off a package to one of my regulars. Some guy pulled out in front of me though and the packaged ended up smashing open on the street. It was just full of all of these random little jars with tiny labels on them and some random parts of different things that didn't make any sense." She muttered, her shoulders moving up and down as she talked, as if even now she still had no idea what it all was. "I just boxed it all back up again and dropped it off. I didn't think anything of it until the next day."

Looking around Hiro could see that no one looked like they liked where this story was going. Gogo on the other hand had moved her arms from around herself to her hands rubbing together as her eyes stayed glued on the ground.

"When I went in to get my next batch for that morning someone came up behind me. They knocked me out and the next thing I knew I woke up in an empty room tied to a chair."

Honey Lemon gasped, her hands moving up to cover her mouth as Fred and Wasabi stood there in opened mouthed shock.

"I guess that I missed one of the jars and the guy didn't get it. They just assumed that I took it and he was just sitting there. The room was dark and I couldn't see anything other than him but I knew there were other people there too. He kept asking me where it was but I tried telling him I had no idea where it was. I apologized for not getting it and said that I would pay for a replacement." She said, her voice almost shaking. "S-someone grabbed my chair and tipped it forward. I-I thought that they w-were just going to smash my face on the floor, b-but there was- there was this deep hole in the floor. The whole thing was full of this ice cold water and I-I..."

Gogo gasped, the memory of what had happened so strong that it was almost as if she thought she was back there. Hiro quickly reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes darted up to his, they were wide and wild and he felt terrible for reminding her about it. Honey came to her side and wrapped her arms tightly around the smaller female, tears shining in the corner of her eyes as she stroked the girl's hair and whispered soothingly to her. Fred and Wasabi looked as if they didn't know what to do. Both of them took a step forward but didn't advance after that as they just turned to each other with mirror expressions of horror across their faces.

"They pulled me out again and he just kept asking the same question. I tried to tell him over and over again that I didn't take it. I tried to tell him that I have just dropped it yesterday by accident and that I missed one. Than he started asking who I gave it to, who I was working for. Every time I gave him the truth he had them dunk me in again and again, each time longer than the last. Eventually they started tasering me when I got out of the water too."

Tears were running down her cheeks by this time, but she was wiping them away as quickly as they fell.

"I don't know how long it went on for but I guess he believed me and I woke up in the room hours later. No one was there and the light was on. I was still sitting in the chair but I wasn't tied to it anymore. That's how I saw the pit they had dug in the room and the water that filled it, but I wish they had just left the lights off. There was blood stains everywhere and you could even see hand prints on the wall of people who tried to claw their way passed the concrete and outside." She said, her eyes growing this far away look as if she was placing herself back in that room where she had been tortured "I ran out of there as fast as I could. I quit that job and I went to the police. When I told them what had happened and described him they turned me away. They told me I would never end up getting him and that it would be safer to keep my mouth shut. He showed up at my house the next day."

Hiro could even being to imagine how much that must have spooked her. How unsafe that must have made her feel for him to confront her in the one place that she was supposed to feel safe.

"He was just smiling and apologized for the misunderstanding. He warned me not to go to the police again or else there might be an even bigger misunderstanding involving my parents. I never saw him again after that. I never thought he's be here." Her voice was barely a whisper now and Hiro had to lean in to hear her.

He couldn't believe this. It was o wonder that he had felt so scared last night. It was no wonder he was worried about what his older brother was up to. It was no wonder that he was frightened about the kind of things Tadashi was getting himself involved in. This guy was psychotic. Night Fury was dangerous.

Tadashi was in trouble.

"I'm sorry Gogo." He whispered wrapping his arms around her as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

Sorry for making her remember that. Sorry for reminding her of him. Sorry for making her tell him the story. Sorry for wanting to get her involved and wanting answers.

She hugged him back, quick but strong and than pulled away. She took a step back from all of them, gently bumping into Wasabi who muttered an apology while she rubbed at her eyes some more.

"Hiro's right." She said after she somehow managed to pull herself together. "We have to warn him about this guy. If we don't..."

Everyone came up with their own end to that sentence, no one liking what they came up with as the group fell into silence again.


	14. Chapter 14

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 14

"Oh hey guys, welcome ba..."

"We need to talk."

Tadashi snapped his mouth shut at the tone that Wasabi used while the group flooded into his work space. Had the command come from Gogo he wouldn't have been as shocked, but the fact that it came from their normally more quiet member threw him a little off. Gogo didn't even seem to be in the mood to talk, her normally wide shouldered stance had been drooped in on herself and her gaze refused to meet Tadashi's as one of her hands was wrapped tightly with Honey's.

He had no idea what had happened in the short amount of time that they were all gone for but he had a feeling it wasn't going to lead to anything good with the solemn looks over everyone's faces.

"What's going on?" He asked, placing down his wrench while Baymax tilted his head at the group.

Hiro, who had taken his place in the middle with Wasabi, crossed his arms over his chest with his eyes pointed downwards an a frown across his lips. He looked as if he was trying to think about what to say and that was really starting to worry Tadashi. Hiro didn't ever think about what he was saying, he always just spat out the first thing that came to mind without caring about the consequence of what his words might do. If he was thinking about it now than Tadashi wasn't sure he wanted to know where this conversation was going to lead.

"You've been hanging out with a new... friend lately." Hiro said slowly, his honey brown orbs snapping up to meet with his brother's. "We just wanted to know if you really knew who he was."

When they fell into silence, Tadashi knew they would wait forever in order to hear his answer. He had no idea what they wanted him to tell them though. A small amount of dread was creeping up his spine that maybe they knew who Hiccup was and what he'd done, but there was no way they could. Their lives were so far removed from Hiccup's kind of world there was no way that they would ever come across each others paths. From the looks over their faces however Tadashi had a sinking dread that maybe they did already know. Maybe they knew exactly who Hiccup was and what he did. They would think that he was dangerous. They would think that Tadashi should no longer be around him any more. They would make him choose.

There was no way out of it this time. He wouldn't be able to dance around it. He had no idea what kind of cards they were all holding and he feared that they could see his whole deck.

Taking in a deep breath Tadashi thought about his next words carefully before he spoke.

"I've been hanging around an old acquaintance of mine." He said slowly, waiting and watching for their reactions.

Honey gasped, a finely manicured hand coming up to cover her perfectly glossed lips as her lined eyes went wide. Gogo's mouth had fallen open slightly, her gaze finally moving up to stare at Tadashi in disbelief. Wasabi's shoulder's rolled back, making him appear bigger than he really was as his eyes narrowed. Fred's lips pushed together so tightly that they almost seem to disappear and his eyes trailed over to check on the rest of the group. Hiro looked completely stunned, his arms midway between crossing and falling to his side while seeming to freeze mid motion as his doe eyed gaze was glued to his brother.

From their reactions Tadashi didn't have to guess that they knew exactly who he was talking about and just what kind of life he lead.

"Apparently you guys might know him as Night Fury." He sighed, running his hand through his hair and waiting to see just what they had to say on the matter.

"Tadashi you can't be friends with him!" Hiro snapped, being the first one to recover.

His arms had fallen to his sides, clenched tightly in white knuckled fists as his jaw was clenched so tightly Tadashi could almost hear his teeth grinding from across the room. Shaking his head in mild frustration the older of the two brother's looked away from his group for a moment. He knew that this was going to happen. He just knew that if they ever found out about Hiccup than they would act this way about it. They just didn't know that Hiccup would never hurt him, all they could see was a bad guy who did bad things, but Hiccup wasn't bad. He didn't make good choices sometimes sure, and maybe his 'job' wasn't the most legal or moral thing around, but he wouldn't hurt people mindlessly. He might pick up a fight at a cage club every once and awhile but he wouldn't just blindly attack anyone for sheer amusement. Every move he made was calculated and planned. He wasn't sadist that did what he did for fun. It was all just business for him.

"Guys look. He's not that much of a bad guy." He said, wondering just how he could help them understand.

They had never had to go what Hiccup had gone through. They didn't know how hard it was to dig yourself out of that kind of life. What they said next though Tadashi had no idea how to prepare himself for.

"Not a 'bad guy'!? He tortured Gogo!" Wasabi shouted, his hand waving wildly in the girls direction. "For doing nothing other than losing one object he had her tortured for hours on end Tadashi! What kind of 'good guy' does that to someone?" He growled, his height and size seeming to expand ten fold now that he was worked in a rage over the protection of one of his friends.

Not knowing what else to do Tadashi stayed quiet. So maybe they weren't as far apart as he'd first thought, but just randomly torturing Gogo didn't make any sense. He hadn't known Hiccup to torture anyone. Play with them ya, he did that sometimes if he was bored and the person was a major annoyance, but he didn't believe in torture. At least not back when Tadashi had been running with him.

Fred, strangely enough, was the one who step forward, raising a hand to his bigger friend's shoulder to help calm him down. After a few deep breaths Fred turned his attention to the one they had cornered, his face holding none of his normally laid back attitude that he was famous for having in all types of situations.

"I know that he's an old friend of yours Tadashi." He said, his voice sounding odd without its lazy drawl. "But you said it had been some years since you'd seen him. Does this sound like the type of behavior that he had before? People can change a lot in the time that they spend away from us, maybe it would be for the best that you moved on."

Tadashi said nothing. He just stared at his group, his eyes carefully calculating each member as he went. Oddly enough he didn't feel anything. His chest felt almost like a hollow space, as if someone had just scooped out his insides and left him with nothing. He guessed that it made sense though. What was he supposed to feel when people he loved attacked each other under odd circumstances that he didn't even know about? He didn't know what side to chose without hearing them both out, but he knew that if he asked Hiccup than he would get nothing but the truth, regardless of the answer. If Hiccup admitted to having tortured one of his best friends... Tadashi didn't know.

He loved his friends and he would die to protect them, but he loved Hiccup too. While he knew the better choice to make would be the people before him now he had no idea anymore if he could live with that decision and just leave Hiccup behind.

What he had to do first and foremost though was find out what had happened. He would have to go to Hiccup and ask, and he really wanted to bring Gogo with him and see what his reaction would be. That would be cruel though and Tadashi would never force someone to relive a nightmare just so he could get some answers.

Standing from his chair he snatched up his bag, dropping the strap against his shoulder as he took out his phone.

We need to talk

"What are you doing?" Hiro asked as Tadashi slipped the object back into his pocket and moved towards his door.

"I'm going to ask Hiccup some questions."

His response seemed to stun them all and he simply brushed by them as he made his way out of his personal work room.

He didn't really know what he was going to ask Hiccup, or even what he would do once he did, but he had to know at least why the boy had done what he did. He knew that no one deserved that kind of treatment, but just what had happened that made Hiccup react that way to something so simple as losing one object from a box? He wanted to know the whole story, but he knew that only Hiccup would be able to deliver it with the form of complete personal detachment that he needed to hear it in.

When he felt his phone go off he quickly slid it out of his pocket and stared down at the message.

Okay? I'm just at home. Mind talking there?

I'll be there in twenty. Hide anything that I could hit/kill/or strangle you with.

Tadashi nodded at his warning before he made his way over to the bus station. He wasn't to surprised when his phone went off moments later.

Got it

(***)

Tadashi didn't even bother knocking, he just opened the door and let himself in without warning. Hiccup didn't seem all that surprised by his entrance, merely looking up from a book he was reading, a soft cover one at that from what Tadashi could see, before snapping it shut and sitting up. None of them spoke as Hiccup pushed himself off of the floor and Tadashi closed the door silently behind himself.

When he turned back to the room he couldn't help but look around, realizing that Hiccup had really listened to him and had moved anything that could have been used as a weapon. Even his desk had been quickly organized with anything sharp or heavy shoved into a see-through box just underneath it. Nodding his head in contempt he finally turned his full attention to Hiccup who had waited patiently for him to scout out his surroundings.

"You into torture now?" He asked, his words blunt as a single brow of Hiccup's quirked upwards.

"Why do you ask?"

"Cut the crap Hiccup." Tadashi deadpanned, causing the other to frown. "It's a yes or no question."

The auburn haired male sighed, lightly crossing his arms over his chest as he turned his head away to stare at the far wall. He didn't make Tadashi wait for an answer for long however as his shoulders raised in a halfhearted shrug before they dropped back down.

"Not really, you never know if they're telling the truth or just telling you what you want to hear to make it end, but in all honesty I have used it a few times over the years out of desperation." He admitted.

As strange as it was Tadashi found his anger slowly fading at the others words. He knew that Hiccup wouldn't have lied to him but it felt so good to hear the words from the boy's own lips rather than just in his head.

"Did you ever torture a girl named Gogo?" He asked,

"Gogo?" Hiccup repeated, the name slipping passed his lips as if he was testing out the sound of it. "Sorry Dash, the names not ringing a bell."

It was than that Tadashi remembered that Gogo had been given her name by Fred just recently and that he'd forgotten to ask just when this event had taken place. Cursing himself for his stupidity Tadashi scowled lightly as he shook his head.

"She's a small girl, Korean decent, with purple highlights in her hair. She might have lost something that you wanted back. Something that you needed so bad you would torture someone for it."

At his description he watched as Hiccup's eyes narrowed in remembrance, his left leg shifting until it was hidden behind his right leg like some sort of shield.

"Oh ya, I remember that." He muttered, his voice dark.

For awhile neither of them spoke. Neither knowing who was to speak next and both waiting for the other to start. As the seconds ticked by into minutes Hiccup let out a long sigh and dropped himself back onto the mattress behind him.

"She's a friend of yous."

It wasn't a question so Tadashi didn't bother confirming it. He just watched as Hiccup pressed his lips together tightly and nod his head to himself.

"Small world."

"What happened?" He asked, leaning himself against the wall in case the answer might take awhile.

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders his eyes looking to the side as he thought about his past and the best way to explain it.

"I was... dealing with...a man, at the time." He explained, his words coming out slowly as his brows pinched together and his eyes narrowed in thought. "Not the usual kind I deal with either, but at the time I didn't know just how dangerous he was."

With those words coming from Hiccup Tadashi felt a small chill crawl up his spine, anyone who the green eyed male thought was dangerous must have been someone to watch out for.

"He just wanted us to send deliveries to his people." Hiccup continued, raising his hand to run through his hair as he spoke. "I didn't really think anything of it, he didn't hide what he was moving so I didn't quiet care. When she lost one of the jars and his receiver complained about it he thought she had stolen it. He insisted that she was working for someone else and that they were trying to sabotage his work."

"What was in the jar?" Tadashi asked, his arms crossing over his chest and his head tilting downwards slightly. "Why would someone care if just one jar went missing?"

At this Hiccup sucked in his lips, his eyes darting to Tadashi once before they dropped to the floor in front of him.

"I'm not a chemist so I..."

"You don't move anything unless you know what you're moving." Tadashi interrupted, his tone stern. "What, was, in, the, jar, Hiccup."

Hiccup mumbled something under his breath. When he looked back up at Tadashi, seeing nothing but his confused face, he cleared his throat and tried again.

"From my understanding of it, a paste kind of substance that, if turned into a gas, could have the same kind of toxic effects as anthrax."

"What!"

"He wasn't using it as a weapon." Hiccup snapped. "I never would have let him move any of it if he had that kind of intention." The boy growled, seeing a need to defend himself from the look of rage over Tadashi's face. "He wasn't allowed to use it unless I had one of my people with his people in the room watching what they were doing with it."

"So what was he doing with it?" Tadashi snarled, the idea of his friend being so irresponsible and putting countless lives in danger making his stomach twist.

"The toxins in it can be controlled and have there amounts lessen to non lethal, and it's actually pretty harmless in paste form." Hiccup explained. "He was taking it and turning it into a kind of 'fountain of youth' kind of thing. The idea of it was that the chemicals in it would kill off the old cells and strengthen the new ones. There would be no point in making a product that killed off your clientele, he knew this and he was very strict on that amount they were allowed to put in it." The auburn haired male said as he rested his elbows on his knees and locked his strong green gaze with Tadashi's burning brown. "If the product would have worked it could have become a multiple million dollar product all on its own. The test runs failed though, it ended up causing strong chemical burns, and sever stomach sickness and he put an end to it after two years of the same results."

Tadashi almost wanted to hiss, 'ya well no shit.'- but he held his tongue, wondering just what kind of messes Hiccup had gotten himself involved in over the years.

"You can see why it caused a slight panic when one went missing though." Hiccup said, his arms sliding down until his wrists were resting against his elbows. "I had to find out what had really happened to it,so I took your friend and I asked her a few questions. I admit I'm not very proud of myself for it, but trust me, it was better that I did it than him."

"Because you're such a merciful tormentor." Tadashi scoffed, knowing just how much Hiccup could destroy someone if he wanted. Taking in a deep breath he forced himself to look away from the one sitting before him. "What did you do?"

He wasn't really sure that he wanted to know, but at the same time he felt that he needed to know just what Hiccup had put the poor girl though.

"We knocked her out." Hiccup started, his voice sounding disgusted with himself as Tadashi glanced back at him from the corner of his eye. "Took her to a room that we normally use for...meetings. You know how stubborn some leaders can be about turning over their territories and paying for protection." At that Tadashi couldn't help the small twitch of his lips as he remembered some of those times himself from when he was younger, scaring man twice his age into submission. "We tied her to a chair and left the room dark, dropped her in a pit full of ice water a few times..."

"Ice water?"

"Ya, it makes the lungs burn like fire after awhile," Hiccup explained, and Tadashi wondered just why he would know that. "than we shocked her with he lowest settings on our stun guns, which by the way still really fucking hurts, especially when wet."

"You've tried it?" Tadashi asked, feeling his heart go out to Gogo for what she had suffered.

"I force all of my people, including myself, to go through anything we think of doing to someone else. It helps them know when enough is enough and how much the body can take. It's supposed to make you more empathetic with your victim."

"Accept that she didn't deserve it, did she?" Tadashi asked, watching as Hiccup's eyes fell and his shoulders dropped.

"No, she didn't. She was telling the truth, she had no idea where it was and had just dropped them. I sent Ruff and Tuff out to the place she said that it had happened and they managed to find it about two hours later, so we stopped."

"You did that to her for two hours!" Tadashi snapped, drawing the other attention back up to him. "You couldn't tell just from the first ten minutes that she was telling the truth?"

"Don't even start with me Tadashi." Hiccup growled, his shoulders straightening back up as his lips pulled back in a snarl. "Think of all the people that you've hurt too. Don't you think any of them had families or friends that worried and got angry about what we did to their loved ones? You're not an angel yourself so don't you dare start talking to me as if I'm the only devil here just because you know someone who was effect."

At the truth in his words Tadashi could do nothing but bite his tongue. Hiccup was right. Maybe he'd never tortured anyone before, but he had torment so may people, left so many people in the hospital without ever giving it a second thought as to who he could have been hurting.

Taking in a deep breath he ran his hand down his face, calming his anger before he continued the conversation.

"You're right." He admitted, feeling a little better when Hiccup's shoulders relaxed slightly. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry about your friend too." Hiccup said with a sigh. "Although if they're going to meddle in my affairs you should warn them against going to the police." He muttered, making Tadashi raise a brow.

"She went to the police?"

His question earned himself an eye roll as Hiccup waved his hand this way and that.

"Ya Tadashi, normal people who don't deal with this kind of life normally go to the police when shit like that happens." He muttered. "Thankfully they just brushed her off, but I had to go to her house and threaten her not to bring it up again."

"Why would you do that?" Tadashi asked, pushing himself off of the wall and making his way closer to his friend.

When he'd been back with Hiccup they had done all of their own running around, they never had other people working for them and they had never worked for other people. Seeing how much Hiccup had actually expanded since than was actually kind of interesting.

"I like to keep the people I employ who have no idea what their moving protected from the people who do, just in case something like that happened." Hiccup sighed. "Half the time they'll want to go after the civilians, you know threaten their homes and families, start killing off people they know if they don't go along with it. So I'm the only one who knows their information and I get rid of it the moment they could be in any form of danger from someone else I move for. When they go to the police though they give all of their information to them, where they live, their phone numbers, you know, everything. If anyone at the station is working for the suppliers they could get the information that I won't give them in a snap."

"So what happened with Gogo?"

Hiccup's hand seemed to move down to rub at his left leg subconsciously as his eyes took on a glazed sort of look.

"He wasn't satisfied with my questioning, he said that he wanted to talk to her himself. I told him no. I wouldn't tell him anything about her. He didn't like that very much."

Standing right before him now Tadashi crouched down in front of him. It was only when they were on the same eye level that Hiccup seemed to notice that he was there, and just how close he was. When he went to shift back Tadashi frowned at his odd behavior. Hiccup never seemed to mind if he was close to him before, why was he having problems now?

"You said you didn't know how dangerous he was." Tadashi muttered, his eyes trailing down to the twitch of Hiccup's fingers at his reminder. "What did he do that showed you just how dangerous he was?"

Hiccup had pressed himself against the wall, his head falling back against it as he closed his eyes. Tadashi just stayed where he was, waiting for the other to continue when he was ready.

"When she lost the product..." Hiccup said quietly, his eyes opened at half mass as they stayed trained on the ceiling, "the product was in its later trials and having no results. He was down so much money, almost a hundred thousand I'm sure, you could tell that he was just looking for someone to take it out on. She was the perfect target, but I wouldn't give her to him. I told him we found it, I told him that she really had just lost it, that no one had stolen it or anything."

Tadashi continued to listen, but his eyes trailed to watch the boy's thumb as it rubbed up and down his left leg slowly, and he couldn't help but wonder why.

"For weeks afterwards he kept demanding to know where she was and who she was. The more I refused the angrier he got that I wouldn't give her up. Eventually he had me come to his office."

When a few minutes ticked by and Hiccup still made no move to continue Tadashi gently placed his hand on the boy's knee. Hiccup jumped violently at the contact, his eyes darted down to Tadashi as his chest heaved as if he'd just run a marathon, but Tadashi didn't make another move. He just held his hand there in a feather light touch and gave him a light squeeze.

"What happened?" He asked softly, trapping the boy's wild green eyes with his, holding them there until Hiccup had managed to calm down a bit.

As Hiccup squirmed a little in place, moving his lower body back and bringing his upper body forward, Tadashi backed off to give him some room and waited. He could see that Hiccup's hands were shaking as he grabbed the bottom of his pant leg but didn't move any further than that.

"Please don't freak out." Hiccup said, his voice barely above a whisper as he bit down on the corner of his lip.

Narrowing his brows Tadashi wondered just what he was supposed to freak out over as he waited for whatever Hiccup was going to show him.

He really wasn't ready for what it was.

As Hiccup pulled up the thick jean material Tadashi wasn't greeted with the sight of warm, pale human skin, he was greeted with cold, smooth steel.

"Tadashi." Hiccup cried out weakly, his eyes glazed over with tears that he refused to let fall as he looked up at his friend.

Tadashi didn't even realize when he'd shot up to his feet or when he'd taken a couple of steps back. Hiccup probably thought he was disgusted, or freaked out, which wasn't the case, he was just in shock. He just couldn't imagine that someone would do this to him, that someone would do this to Hiccup of all people, that someone would do this at all to anyone. Was this what Hiccup had protected Gogo from? Was this what that guy was going to do to his friend if Hiccup had given her up?

Realizing that he was being an ass Tadashi quickly pushed his questions aside for later. Dropping back to his knees on the bed and just right in front of the boy he found that he had to fight with himself to look away from the fake leg that Hiccup had in order to stare at his eyes.

"What did he do to you?"

When Hiccup went to yank his pant leg back down Tadashi grabbed a hold of his hand and kept it where it was.

"Stop." He mumbled, pressing his forehead lightly against the others, their hair mixing together as he intertwined the fingers over the boy's knee with his own. "It's fine Hiccup." He promised, his heart breaking slightly when Hiccup wouldn't meet his gaze. "Just tell me what happened."

Rubbing at his eyes with his free hand Hiccup took in a shuttering breath as he pressed back lightly against Tadashi.

"When he had me come to his office I just thought he was going to scream at me. I just thought that he was some kind of pencil pusher you know. He looked like the type." Hiccup said, a small smile coming to his face at the reminder of his own stupidity. "But he was so mad. He didn't act it, but I could see it in him. He was pretty much about to explode with it." At this his frown returned as he rubbed at his eyes again, working hard to keep his voice even. "He asked me to sit down but when I went to he whipped out this collapsible baton and got me in the side of the head with it. I was so out of it, I couldn't do anything but try to pick myself up off the ground. He kept kicking me back down though and than he just started beating on my leg..."

His voice hitched and he closed his eyes tightly, not daring to talk if he couldn't do it with out breaking down. Seeing how much he was struggling Tadashi quickly got up and walked over to the kitchenish area. Snatching up a cup of water he made his way back over and swiftly took up his position again, holding the glass out for the boy to take. When Hiccup looked up at him in confusion Tadashi shrugged his shoulders lightly.

"It always helps Hiro when he's upset." He explained.

Smiling somewhat shakily at him Hiccup let out a soft chuckle as he took the cup. Taking a few swallows from it he held it in both of his hands and brought his knees up closer to his chest.

"Thank you."

Nodding his head in a acceptance of the gratitude Tadashi sat cross legged, his shins lightly pressing against Hiccup's. Raising his hands up on either side of the boy's legs he lightly ran his palms up and down them to help sooth him again enough to continue. Hiccup gave him a soft smile, his eyes full of appreciation before he took in a deep breath.

"He beat my leg until it was completely shattered. I could feel how mangled it was and to be honest I wasn't actually sure if there were any bones left or if he'd smashed them into pieces to small to be bound together again. I thought I was beyond pain at that point. I couldn't even scream anymore, I couldn't even bring myself to feel the pain, or even look down at what he'd done. Than he started cradling me though, saying that there was nothing he could do to help my leg. He told me it would have to be cut off. I was in to much shock to be able to fight against him, it was like I wasn't in control at all. He just picked me up and dumped me on his desk. He tied my leg up and than he tied the rest of my limbs down. He injected me with something too, he never told me what but I always figured it was some kind of adrenalin to keep me awake."

Tadashi fought back on his own tears as he continued listening, his hands having long since stopped moving as they just squeezed the boy's knees.

"Than he brought out a handsaw."

"Jesus Christ." Tadashi gagged his stomach twisting unpleasantly, making him glad that he hadn't really eaten anything this morning.

"He wanted to know where she was, but I wouldn't tell him, so he did this." Hiccup muttered, his voice dead as he made a small hand motion towards his leg. "The funny thing is that we were in his office, and I was screaming, I know I was, but no one came to help." Hiccup mumbled as his brows drew together, his finger tips lightly running over his leg, or lack therefore of. "It just makes me wonder how many people he's done this to and how he keeps getting away with it."

"Who was it?" Tadashi hissed, his rage boiling at the blank look that Hiccup had over his face, no doubt his minds defense against the violent acts that had been committed. "Hiccup, who did this to you? Who was going to do this to Gogo?"

Hiccup just stared at him, his mind slowly coming back from where ever it had slipped away to as he took in Tadashi's question. Slowly he shook his head back and forth, a small smile coming to his face as he let out a weak sounding chuckle.

"Don't do this to yourself Tadashi. This isn't your world anymore. You've found a better one." Hiccup said, raising his hand to run his fingers through Tadashi's silky soft hair. "Besides," he sighed dropping his hand to clasp around his cup again as a frown came back to his lips, "it's not like it matters much anyways. What's done is done. Your friend's safe, I've moved on. Everything's good."

"That is such a load of..."

"Your brother followed you yesterday." Hiccup interrupted, changing the subject completely as he placed the cup down on the floor next to him. "He sewed a tracker into the strap of your bag, than he took a picture when we left the bar. I deleted it of course."

Not knowing what to do with such a drastic subject change, Tadashi just stared at him, blinking owlishly for a moment. It seemed to take his brain some time to catch up but when it did he tilted his head to the side and frowned.

"What? Last night? Is that why you...?"

"Took off for a second?" Hiccup finished, raising his brows as he did so. "Ya. I didn't want to tell you. I thought you might get really mad at him. Besides, I got rid of the tracker and everything so you shouldn't have to worry about it."

"What could have happened if he had the picture?" Tadashi asked, moving himself to be sitting beside the other as Hiccup shrugged.

"If he put it up anywhere asking about me it could get him killed. I've known people to take drastic measures without asking me about them first and 'getting rid' of anyone they think is try to get anything on me. Your brother's kind of a pest, but he cares for you. Think I might have scared him a little though."

"You were protecting him." Tadashi muttered taking a hold of Hiccup's hand again and intertwining their fingers together. "Just like you protected Gogo, in a weird kind of way."

"I don't intentionally try to drag innocent people into my world Tadashi." He sighed, his fingers tightening around the Asian male's bigger ones. "But sometimes it just happens, and when it does sometimes there's nothing you can do about it."

"I don't know know if they'll ever forgive you for what you did to Gogo." Tadashi admitted. "Even if they did find out why and what ended up happening."

"I wouldn't care if they did." Hiccup said honestly, his head leaning against Tadashi shoulder heavily. "I just want to know if you do."

Tadashi knew what his answer was. He didn't even have to think about it. Of course he forgave Hiccup, but the problem was if his friends would ever forgive him if he forgave Hiccup. If they knew that he didn't blame the other for what happened, if they knew that even after finding out from the one who had hurt her himself he could still forgive him, he might lose them all forever.

"I do forgive you Hiccup." He mumbled, wrapping his arm around the boy's shoulder and holding him close.

"You shouldn't." Hiccup chuckled.

They allowed themselves to stay there like that for a little bit. Neither of them speaking and just taking in the silence of the day in each others arms. Slowly however Hiccup gently pushed Tadashi away, getting to his feet as he pushed his pant leg back down over the fake limb. After he was done he shoved his hands in his pockets, turning around to face Tadashi with a small frown.

"You shouldn't be here."

Confused at his sudden change in mood Tadashi got up as well, his lips twitching downwards while he stood in front of his friend.

"What?"

"Look Tadashi," Hiccup sighed, a hand coming up to rub tiredly at his face, "I've loved seeing you again, really I have, but, I think we have to face the facts here." He mumbled, dropping his hand to his side again. "We're just to different now. I could never fit into your world, and it would kill you to fit into mine. We can't just keep doing our own little separate thing forever, someones going to break through it on us and I think some people already have."

At the reminder of his friends and family who were no doubt the ones Hiccup was thinking of he felt his shoulders slouch as a heavy frown came to his face.

"Hiccup I don't think that..."

"Tadashi." Hiccup muttered sharply, his eyes narrowing and taking a step back from the hand that was about to be placed on his shoulder. "You know I'm right. I was never going to get into your life in the first place, I was just going to watch from the side lines and make sure that nothing happened to you." The auburn male sighed, glaring at the floor as if it was the one responsible for getting him in involved. "I can't force you to choose between either them or me and I'd never want you to, so I'm making the choice for you."

"You can't do that." Tadashi growled, meeting the other glare for glare as Hiccup smirked back at him.

"I believe that I just did."

"Well to bad. I'm overruling you." Tadashi said, crossing his arms firmly over his chest as Hiccup's smirk fell into open mouthed shock.

"What! You can't do that!"

"Just did." Tadashi taunted as Hiccup scowled at him.

"This isn't a game Tadashi. This is your life." Hiccup scolded, making Tadashi quirk a brow at him as he tilted his head to the side.

"Than shouldn't I be able to make my own choices?"

"I'm trying to help!"

"Than stop pushing me away." Tadashi snapped, his anger shutting the other up for a moment as he tried to think about what to do next. "Our worlds are merging, but that might not be such a bad thing." He said as an idea suddenly came to mind. "Come and meet them!" He exclaimed, grabbing a hold of Hiccup's shoulder and pulling him in close. "Not right now, maybe sometime next week, but meet them. Explain what happened, apologize to Gogo. They might not go for it but if they see that you tried and that you're not a scary monster than it might help to persway them a little. We could have a big dinner at my house and..!"

"Have you lost your mind?" Hiccup said, shaking his hand off as his mouth hung open. "There is no way that something like that would end well. You might as well just put me in the stockades and give them all rotten fruit, or pitch forks or axes. That has 'bad idea' written all over it!"

Tadashi frowned as his idea was rejected. Hiccup couldn't say no to this. He had to get everyone to see that he wasn't a bad guy, that he didn't do what he had to Gogo for fun. Sure maybe they wouldn't forgive him, but maybe they just might understand him.

"Please Hiccup." He begged, pulling out his best puppy dog eyes as he hunched up his shoulders to make himself seem even more pathetic. "Please."

Hiccup glared at him so strongly that for a moment Tadashi wondered if he was going to burst into flames. When time seemed to stretch on long enough Hiccup finally crumbled, his shoulders sagging as he let out a long sigh.

"Fine, but when this doesn't go well, don't say I didn't warn you."


	15. Chapter 15

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 15

"You know for someone who wants me to meet their 'great friends' you sure are taking your sweet time in getting back to them."

Tadashi turned away from the screen of Hiccup's laptop, his mouthful of instant noodles still hanging half way passed his lips. He was slightly upset that Hiccup had pulled him away from the super awesome movie that they had decided on, being one of Hiccup's favorites and with a dragon Tadashi was sure he based most of what Toothless looked like off of, he wanted to see it through to the end. At the auburn haired male's pointed look however, the effect slightly ruined since one of his cheeks was puffed out with his own mouthful of one of the cheapest foods available, Tadashi decided he'd have to do that later.

Placing his container down on the floor, just off the edge of the bed he was sitting on, Tadashi quickly swallowed his mouthful.

"I'm not stalling on telling them." He said, and he was being honest. He wasn't sticking around since he was afraid to hear what they were going to say. He already knew everything that they would say. He knew just how they would react, and that was one of the reasons that he didn't want to head out, but it wasn't the only one. "I just want to spend some more time with you."

Hiccup seemed to choke for a moment, his eyes going wide as his chest heaved. Tadashi winced when the boy quickly slammed his noodles down and started banging at his chest with a closed fist, his stomach coming in and out as he breathed rapidly and coughed into his other hand. Raising his own hand Tadashi gently rubbed at his back as Fury got through his small choking fit. When the rough coughing had subsided his brows pinched together in guilt while he frowned at his long time friend.

"You okay?"

Hiccup only waved a hand, his head turned away as he tried to get himself back under control. When he seemed ready to talk once more he turned his attention back to the screen but not Tadashi.

"Sorry bout that." He muttered, trying to play it off as Tadashi gave him a weak smile that he couldn't see.

"It's fine."

Silence dragged on between them, only the sound of the movie cutting any of the tension while the kid on the screen got ready for his test flights.

Tadashi bit at the corner of his lip while he peaked at Hiccup from his peripheral vision. He was still thinking about the other night and what Hiccup had said. He'd told him to think less. He was pretty much implying that he wanted what Tadashi wanted, that he was just as interested in what was between them as Tadashi was. After they had been interrupted though they hadn't gotten another chance to talk about it again. He really had no idea if that was their only chance to talk about it at all but he couldn't help but wonder if it would be alright for him to bring it up again.

Just saying that he had wanted to hangout longer had made Hiccup choke, literately, but now that it was out of the way would he be okay for a full conversation?

His hands twitched towards his cup of noodles, mostly just wanting it so he could have something in his hands to play with than anything, but he didn't bother picking it up. Really if he wanted answers he knew there was only one way to get them. He just didn't want to risk the chance of maybe losing what they had. What if he didn't though? Just last night had been the perfect time, Hiccup pretty much gave him the go ahead. What was holding him back?

Sure they had just had a bit of a heated conversation just a few hours ago. Five hours, thirty-six minutes and twelve seconds ago to be exact, but everything had gone well with that conversation. Hiccup had opened up to him more. He told him things that Tadashi was sure he kept hidden from almost everyone. He had a feeling that their conversation had brought them closer than they ever were before, but in which direction?

Well he guessed there was really only one way to find out...

"Hey Hiccup." He muttered his eyes staring at the floor before they moved to the boy's face when he turned to look at him.

"Hm?" Hiccup had the chopsticks stuck in between him lips, his cheeks puffed up like a child eating a huge amount of sweets.

Tadashi had to look away quickly before he burst out in laughter. The look was so sweet and pure for someone who spent their life in the shadows, he couldn't help but find it just ironically adorable.

Turning back to face him once more when he heard Hiccup swallow down his mouthful. Coughing into his fist to try and help wipe off the smirk over his face he looked back at a slightly flustered and completely unamuzed face.

"What?" Hiccup asked, his chopsticks still stirring around the noodles in the thin styrofoam cup. Tadashi could hear the ends scraping against the sides and as much as it bothered him he chose to keep quiet about it. He had bigger issues.

"I wanted to talk, about last night." He said, his eyes catching the way that Hiccup's hand faltered mid stir just the slightest bit before he caught himself.

"What about it?" Hiccup asked, the smallest amount of tension building up in his shoulders as he turned away. "I already told you that I'm pretty sure I scared Hiro, he shouldn't be following you around anymore."

"That's not what I want to talk about and you know it." Tadashi sighed, giving his eyes a roll for effect as he leaned back on his hands. "I want to talk about what we were talking about yesterday, you know, before we were interrupted by the deranged red head."

At this Hiccup gave a small chuckle.

"Dagur the Deranged hm? Has a nice ring."

"Hiccup."

"What's there more to talk about?" Hiccup asked, all form of amusement out of his voice now as he sent a sharp glare to Tadashi.

Pressing his lips into a tight line Tadashi couldn't help but wonder if maybe it had been a bad idea to bring this up at all, but he guessed this was something that Hiccup did. Whenever something appear to be getting out of his hands and left him on shaky grounds he would respond to it harshly, putting up a thick wall of defense and indifference. While Tadashi knew now that apparently he wouldn't mind pushing their relationship further he could see that Hiccup wanted to be the one in control in it. Last night he'd been easier to talk to about it because it was Hiccup who brought it up. With Tadashi mentioning it out of the blue he must have felt completely unprepared and saw it as some form of attack.

Letting out another, longer sigh Tadashi flopped back.

"Don't you ever get tired of this?"

"No, I love this movie. The soundtrack is awesome and they did a really good job on the flight scen..."

"Again you know that's not what I'm talking about." Tadashi said, quickly pushing himself back up and turning on the other. "I like you."

In the background the boy on the screen could be heard whooping joyfully as he and his dragon finally managed to ride as one. Tadashi ignored it though as he kept his gaze on Hiccup's suddenly red face.

"I don't mean as a friend, although you are my best friend, I mean that I like you more than that. I might even be in love with you." He admitted, feeling his own face go red but shoving his embarrassment to the backseat as he took the cup that was slowly slipping from Hiccup's hands and placed it on the floor. "Do you remember that night a few years ago, the one that we said we'd never talk about again to ourselfs or anyone else?" From the way Hiccup's face lit up even more he could tell that he did. "I've like you even before that, and it never went away even when you were gone. When you got back I was so shocked that we might be able to meet up again and than when I finally did get to see you well..." Tadashi trailed off, his words ending with a shrug of his shoulders. "I was so happy." Shaking himself out he raised a hand and whacked Hiccup on the side of his arm harshly.

"Ow!"

"And than you've been sending me mixed signals! What am I supposed to do with that?" He questioned, glaring at the boy who, for once in his life looked to stupefied to do anything back other than rub his sore arm. "Its not a hard choice Hiccup. Either you like me to and we could go out, or you don't and we could just stay friends. Normally I wouldn't be so blunt, but I don't think that we can go any further and continue acting this way. It's not going to be to long until one of us snaps."

"Seems like you already have." Hiccup said, forcing a light chuckle passed his lips. At seeing the look of amusement across Tadashi's face he quickly turned his head away and gave an awkward cough. "Uh, I ah I don't..."

"Have you been flirting with me these passed few months?" Tadashi asked, the commanding tone in his voice drawing Hiccup back around to face him.

The boy had the decency to look somewhat guilty as he dropped his hands to hang over his knees with a frown.

"Yes."

"Okay," Tadashi felt like they were finally getting somewhere and nodded his head to encourage the other to continue, "now why have you been doing that?" He asked, loving the way that Hiccup's face was now almost firetruck red.

Trying to give the other a determined face and not show just how much this whole conversation was embarrassing him passed words Tadashi watched as Hiccup turned to face him with a glare of his own.

"Because I like you nerd."

Finally!

Although the words had been spit at him with a load of mortification, Tadashi couldn't help feel the happiest he'd ever been. He just about vibrated in place in pure excitement as he reached out and grabbed the boy on either side of his face. Pulling the stunned male closer he pressed their foreheads together as a childish laugh slipped by his lips.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me to hear!"

Not wasting another second he quickly brought their lips together. As he went to pull back Hiccup raised his own hands to either side of Tadashi's face and pulled him back in. The kiss was a little rougher this time, not that Tadashi was to shocked by that as he allowed his eyes to slip blissfully closed.

Tilting his head to the side he moved one of his hands to gently grip the back of Hiccup's neck as his other hand slid down to wrap around the boy's waist, pulling him in until their chests were pressed tightly together. Hiccup let out a small noise, something close to a moan and Tadashi took full advantage, sliding his tongue passed the slightly parted entrance and into the moist cavern.

Underneath his large hands he could feel the tight muscles jump from the intrusion but when Hiccup didn't pull away he took it as a go ahead and ever so slowly slipped his hand under the boy's plain t-shirt. This time he did manage to get a full blown moan as the slightly taller male traced every bump of the boy's spine, Hiccup even had to pull back his face beat red and his breathing labored.

"You're awfully sensitive." Tadashi chuckled, giving the street rat a kiss between his brows, earning himself an unamuzed growl from the boy.

His growl was quick to dissolve into a serious of small gasps and slight squirming as Tadashi made small little circular patterns with the tip of his finger at the base of the boy's spine.

"Screw off." The auburn haired male hissed, dropping his head to Tadashi's shoulder to hide his face. "There's a difference between just going through the motions and actually enjoying it."

Giving a small chuckle Tadashi allowed himself to fall back, pulling the other male with him as he did so and wrapping his arms securely around his waist.

"You're adorable."

"Ugh, don't say that." Hiccup groaned covering his face with his hands as Tadashi only laughed even more.

"What? Afraid it will hurt your bad boy imagine?"

When the other looked up to glare at him Tadashi simply ruffled his hair.

"If anyone were to say anything to me about it I'd introduce their face to my fist, or the wall."

"That's awfully violent of you." Tadashi cooed, finding this flustered part of Hiccup just to cute not to bother.

The boy grumbled some things under his breath that Tadashi couldn't make out to well but he chose to let it go when the boy quickly brought their lips together again. Humming in approval Tadashi once again ran his fingers up the boy's back as the movie went on, completely forgotten.

Moving his mouth from Hiccup's lips he trailed them down the side of his neck slowly, adding in a sharp bite and a hard suck as he went. By the time he made it down to Hiccup's collarbone Hiccup had taken up the job at nibbling on the lobe of Tadashi's ear with sharp teeth. Feeling himself shutter from the small abuse Tadashi trailed his fingers up the back of Hiccup's shirt as he lowered his lips to the well define and biteable collarbone before him.

When the auburn haired male moved his legs off of Tadashi and on either side of his body Tadashi couldn't help but wonder what he was doing. He got his answer soon enough as Hiccup used his new position to grind their lower half's together, pulling a groan from them both at the new friction.

As clothing got in the way and was quickly discarded Tadashi could have sworn that he noticed the pant pocket of his jeans was glowing with the light of his phone receiving a message on mute. Before he could investigate however his mind became occupied with the small series of feather light kisses places across his forehead that teasingly lead down to his lips.

He'd just check it later.


	16. Chapter 16

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 16

"Hey, get up."

Tadashi groaned, rolling over and taking a large chunk of blankets with him as he went. He didn't want to get up right now. He just wanted to lay here forever and not move at all. A sharp kick to the mattress he was laying on jolted him rudely, forcing him to peer out from under the comfort of the little fort he'd made to see who he had to kill. Upon seeing the smirking face of the auburn haired male that had been the reason that his sleeping had been so good he sent him a decent glare. Not without a huff on his part did he sit up, taking the blankets with him. There was no way he was leaving the comfortable warmth they provided unless someone was willing to tare him away from it themselves.

"You might want to hurry up and get changed." Hiccup said, rolling his shoulders back and placing his hands in his pockets.

"Kicking me out already?" Tadashi asked with a small scoff. "Rude."

"If I had a choice I wouldn't."

Glancing up at him through still sleep hazy eyes Tadashi quirked a brow at his words.

"Your babysitting group is coming over."

Those words sprung him into action faster than either of them could blink. Tadashi was already darting around the room, trying to find all of his clothing to cover his nude form. That was really the last thing that he needed. He didn't know what he would do if they walked in on him in the 'enemy's' house butt naked. One; they would have been pissed as hell and Hiro would no doubt locking out of the house for a few days, and two; they would never let him live that kind of thing down.

Moving faster than a rabbit with a pack of dogs on its tail, he gathered up everything in the room and quickly threw it on. When he turned back to face Hiccup he couldn't help the smallest of coy smiles come to his face at the flush over the others cheeks. The street runner was quick to dart his attention else where to hide his face as he cleared his throat and tossed Tadashi's phone carelessly over his shoulder.

"They've been trying to call you for the last few hours and now they're worried so they're using the GPS in your phone systems to track you here." Hiccup explained as the slightly taller male swiped through his phone to see the kind of messages they had left.

Well there was a ton from both Gogo and Hiro, in messages and phone calls, and quiet a few from his other friends as well.

Now that he thought about it he guessed that they had every reason to be freaking out. To them Hiccup was some kind of monster. Someone who hurt people for the hell of it and could easily make people disappear with a snap of his fingers if he so pleased. They didn't see the side of him that would melt at the touch of fingers and sink into a kiss so deep that it almost felt like they'd never surface. As the thought crossed Tadashi's mind he couldn't help the small possessive growl that slipped passed his lips at the very idea of someone else seeing Hiccup like that. Hiccup was his and his only. He was the only one that was allowed to see the flush over the boy's face and the far off look in his eyes when he was brought to his limit. Only he was allowed to hear the sounds that slipped passed the boy's lips in moans or gasps. Only he was the one who was allowed to watch as he squirmed and arched to every touch and kiss that was placed on him.

Just the idea of someone else seeing that side of Hiccup... Tadashi wasted no time in walking the few steps that separated him from the boy's still turned back and tightly wrapped his arms around his waist. The smaller male let out a tiny yelp of shock, but Tadashi moved fast and gave his cheek a small kiss to help settle him. When the body in his arms finally relaxed, the older male smiled as he traced the tips of his fingers up and down the boy's stomach, trailing them over the strong v curve of his hips.

"I told you they're on their way here." Hiccup muttered, his voice trying to be stern but the darker haired male could hear the strain in his words.

"They're not here yet." Tadashi cooed, nuzzling soft, freckled skin of the boy's cheek.

At this Hiccup let out a small laugh, gently shoving the other away with his elbow to help put some space between them.

"Tadashi seriously."

Letting out a long, over dramatic sigh, Tadashi dropped his hands to rest on his own hips. Tilting his head forward slightly he allowed his displeasure at being rejected show clearly across his face. "So am I supposed to pretend that nothing is going on between us than?"

"Yes." Hiccup said, all form of amusement gone as he turned to face his boyfriend head on. "Think about it. You came here probably to kick my ass about what happened to Gogo. If they found out that you didn't and that we ended up dating each other instead? They might not take that very well there bud."

Seeing that he had a point Tadashi let out an even bigger sigh. He'd almost forgotten about the reason that he had ended up here today in the first place, and he felt bad about that as guilt crashed into him like a wave. Right, if they found out that he'd ended up screwing Hiccup's ass rather than kicking it... He'd be lucky if any of them wanted to talk to him again afterwards.

"Good point."

For a moment neither of them spoke, or even moved. They seemed to be content in just standing there in a tiny room together where the world was theirs and where no one else mattered. If he was going to be completely honest, Tadashi wouldn't have minded one bit if that statement was true. He knew that Hiccup was bad for him, and that somewhere along the way something was bound to go very, very wrong, but at the same time he didn't really care to much either. He didn't care if he was falling or about the sharp crash that was awaiting for him at the bottom. Right now, in this moment, he was just enjoying the wind rushing by him.

After a moment or so longer of silence Tadashi looked up at the other with a soft smile over his own features. "Alright, I'll go now, but I'll text you later."

At the smile he received back he couldn't help but feel as if his heart was fluttering about in his chest from the sheer beauty of it.

"I'll look forwards to it."

Swooping in before he had a chance to get away, Tadashi lightly pressed their lips together. When he pulled back he smirked at the flustered expression and scowl of the other, swiftly back dashing a few steps to avoid a well aimed kick if Hiccup felt like making him pay for the shock.

"See ya later my little dragon boy."

"Dear gods don't say that." Hiccup groaned, pulling a laugh from the other as he finally turned around to face the door.

Just as his fingertips grazed over the handle Tadashi stopped short when he heard his name being called from behind him. Looking over his shoulder he raised a brow upon seeing that Hiccup was smiling at him as he gave him a two fingered salute.

"Souls of dragons."

Hearing those words, that slogan, Tadashi almost couldn't breath. He hadn't heard them in so long. Five years. The words that Hiccup only used with those that he cared most about, the ones that he saw as his equals. The words that Tadashi had said to him first all of those years ago when they had first met. The ones that Hiccup had continued to use after to honor their bond. After five years hearing the words again awoke some long sleeping part of himself as Tadashi felt his grin grow wide while he saluted back.

"Souls of dragons."

(***)

"So how did it go?"

Hiccup scowled at his blond friend as she sat with the rest of the group around the table, a knowing smirk on her face as everyone else turned their attention away from their own conversations and to him.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He grumbled, his gaze narrowing enough at her in warning to keep her mouth shut while his hands stayed in a tight fist in the pockets of his jeans.

"Why do I feel like we're missing something?" Tuff said, his head tilting way to the side as some of his dreadlocks slipped over his shoulder.

"When are we not missing something?" Ruff, his twin sister, asked from by his side as he turned to face her.

"Hm, good point. I feel like we miss a lot of things." He said as she nodded her head in agreement.

"Ya, but we catch the things where it counts." She added while a crazy smile broke over Tuff's face.

"Yes! Like that chicken from last week! We knew there was no way a real chicken moved like that!"

"Got that right." Ruff said as they both shared a high five.

Tuning out the rest of their conversation Hiccup turned his attention to the other three members of his small group.

"Did you guys hand out the warning?"

At his question Snotlout let out a sharp bark of laughter, crossing his hands behind his head as he leaned back as much as he could in his seat.

"I'll say we did." He grinned, his head nodding subconsciously to the loud music playing just outside the VIP area. "I'm sure he's going to be much more discreet now so no worries there."

"Which one?" Hiccup asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Fishlegs was the next one to speak up, his large form stuck in the corner for some reason as he played with the drink in his hands.

"Well, we couldn't find Dagur." He said, his shoulders hunched up to his ears as his eyes darted around this way and that. "So we decided to wait for him tonight."

"I spoke to Dagur yesterday." Hiccup muttered as he lightly crossed his arms over his chest. "He was in here and I gave him a warning. Make sure that if he didn't heed it to put him back in his place without giving him another warning. One is enough as far as I'm concerned."

"Alright Chief." Astrid said as she leaned back in her seat. "We'll take care of it tonight." She finished, snatching up her bottle of beer and bringing it to her lips.

"Good, can I ask you guys to go on this one alone again?"

Astrid looked up at him through half lidded eyes, her drink still pressed to her lips as everyone else turned their full attention to him as well. It wasn't normal for Hiccup to make them go solo. Maybe once and awhile, but twice in one week and one after the other was a first. Hiccup knew that his request was odd, but it didn't matter what their answer would be, there was really only one they could give him. Him asking was more out of curiosity than the fact that he actually had to. There were other things that he had to do tonight, and as much as he wished that involved a certain robotics student or the rest of his riders, it really was something that he was going to have to do on his own.

When the blond beauty placed her drink softly back against the table Hiccup found his gaze drawn to her as she raised one arm to rest against the cushiony back of her seat.

"Of course Hiccup. We'll get the job done."

Nodding his head in appreciation of her acceptance with no questions asked, Hiccup gave her a small smile.

"I just came to check up on you all. If there are any problems than don't hesitate to contact me For now though I have to go, you guys might not see me for a little while but don't worry alright?"

"Worry? When do we ever do that?" Tuff asked as he turned to his sister who shrugged in response.

"Do you have a new assignment Hiccup?" Fishlegs questioned, ignoring the twins as did everyone else.

"You have a new assignment and you didn't tell us about it?" Snotlout grumbled throwing his hands in the air before dropping them down heavily on his legs. "I'm bored of these babysitting jobs! I want some real work too!" He complained loudly, his voice nearly drowning out the music.

"If I have chosen a new assignment and haven't involved you," Hiccup said, his voice calm as he leveled them all with hard emerald eyes, "than there is a reason for it."

No one said anything to that. They remained silent, sinking back into their place and allowing him to remain on top as their leader. Unlike a lot of other leaders that Hiccup knew he always made sure that they were all on pretty even grounds, but there were times when he had to step up and reminded them all that at the end of the day, he was in fact the only reason that they could still continue to go as strongly as they had since he recruited them. There were also times, although few and far in between where he would have to take on assignments on his own if only to ensure their own safety.

No one questioned him anymore after that and when he met the hard glare of Astrid he knew that she figured out just who his assignment was from. Thankfully she didn't voice her rage as he turned and walked back out the door of her night club.


	17. Chapter 17

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 17

Tadashi couldn't believe he was doing this. For the longest time he hadn't wanted to say a word about Hiccup to any of his group. He hadn't waned any of them finding out about the countless amounts of nights he'd spent running the streets and the years he'd spent helping Hiccup build up his empire and run the city. Yet here he was. Sitting on a dumpster in the back ally of somewhere far enough from Hiccup's place at close to one in the morning waiting for them all to get here so that he could tell them about everything.

Letting out a long sigh Tadashi leaned back against the damp brink wall. He could feel some of it rubbing away and onto his clothing and into his hair but he was use to it and didn't give it much of a thought as he looked up at the sky. Sadly there wasn't much to see. There were clouds, but they had been stained orange by the street lights and looked as if they were now giving up their own light in response. No stars were strong enough to shine back at him and briefly Tadashi wondered if Hiccup had ever really seen the stars before. It seemed to be that whenever he left one city he moved on right to the next and Tadashi had a feeling that he'd never seen a sky properly lit by the best nightlights in the world.

"Tadashi!"

Making a quick mental note to take Hiccup on a star gazing date out of town Tadashi dropped his gaze from the sky to the group that had just rounded the corner.

They all seemed pretty shocked to see him if their slack jaws and wide eyes were anything to go by. He just smiled at them as he hopped off of the rusty dumpster, somewhat shocked that he didn't break it and fall in now that he was thinking about it, before he made his way over to them.

"Hey guys." He greeted easily, as if he hadn't been gone for hours with someone they saw as a huge threat and a great terror.

"What the hell!" Hiro snapped shoving his hand against Tadashi's chest and trying to shove him back. "We were all worried sick about you and you've been sitting out here waiting for us the whole time!?"

"No." Tadashi said easily, no smile on his face as he looked down at his brother. "I was at Hiccup's until a little while ago. I just decided to wait here since you were already on your way."

"Why were you there so long?" Gogo questioned, her gaze narrowed, her arms already tightly crossed over her chest. "What happened?"

At this Tadashi gave a small shrug.

"I convinced him to come meet all you guys over a dinner at my Aunt's house."

"What!?"

Silently Tadashi was impressed with their unison. Even all of their expressions were the same as they looked at him like he'd betrayed them in some way. He supposed that it was a lot to ask of Gogo, but he couldn't really see why everyone else looked pretty pissed as well. They didn't even know him.

"Listen guys, we need to talk."

"We've been needing to talk for awhile." Wasabi muttered, his hands shoved deeply into his pockets.

Whether he did that to keep his hands away from all of the dirt in the ally or to keep his fist from flying in Tadashi's face he wasn't really sure. Giving a nod of his head however he could see where his friends were coming from.

"Ya I guess that's true." He said, a small chuckle slipping passed his lips as he moved back to the dumpster so he could lean against it. "Look, I know that Hiccup isn't a saint," Tadashi started, frowning at the scoffs he received in turn, "that being said he's not a monster either." He mumbled while the rest of his group just waited for him to continue. "He grew up on the streets guys, he just does what he needs to in order to survive. One of the best ways of surviving is to become the worst thing out there. He really does try hard to make sure that he doesn't involve innocent people, but sometimes things just happen."

"So him doing what he did to Gogo 'just happened'?" Hiro snapped, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. "That's such a loud of bulls..."

"Hiro." His little brother snapped him mouth shut at the look over Tadashi's face, but his glare still remained as Tadashi turned his attention to his much shorter friend. "He told me that he threatened you about going to the police. Do you know why?"

"Because he didn't want to get his ass thrown in jail." Gogo said, his eyes narrowed so sharply that they looked like they could slice right through even the strongest of metal.

To her answer all Tadashi could do was laugh. Get thrown in jail. That would never happen to Hiccup again. If it hadn't been for his Aunt, it wouldn't have happened the first time.

"That's cute," he chuckled, watching Gogo's face go red while her anger grew, "but no. He did it so that people that could really hurt you couldn't find you. After that incident he burned all of the information he had on you so the people he was making the runs for couldn't get to you."

"And I'm supposed to be thankful for that?" Gogo sneered, her lips pulling back to form an impressive snarl.

"Considering that Hiccup lost his leg in your place I would say yes, you should be thankful."

His tone was cold and unrelenting in the accusation he placed on her. He hadn't realized until just than that he somewhat held Gogo responsible for what had happened to Hiccup. He felt angry that she had been mad at him for so long when he had tried to protect her at his own personal cost. If she had been paying attention and hadn't dropped the box than none of this would be happening right now.

Closing his eyes Tadashi gave himself a moment to calm down. This wasn't Gogo's fault, and it wasn't Hiccup's fault. It was the fault of whoever had done this to them both.

When he opened his eyes again he could see conflicted looks of horror and shock over their faces. It was as if they didn't know what to think of the information that they had just been told. Like they didn't know what to do if the world wasn't all in black and white. It was as if they were lost in trying to decode what the gray areas where and how they could give a proper judgment on it.

"Look, I'm not saying what Hiccup did was right," Tadashi sighed, bringing his hand up to rub at his forehead, "but I don't hate him for it, I can't, and I don't think you should either."

"What?" Any soft look that Gogo had across her face was gone in the blink of an eye and with a snap of her voice. "Are you kidding me?"

"No. I'm being dead serious." Tadashi said, his frown back over his lips as he narrowed his gaze at his friend. "Your hate isn't going to get you anywhere Gogo, it won't change anything. I'm not saying that you have to like him, but when you guys meet him I don't want you jumping down his throat or forcing him out the door. He's my friend," well, he was defiantly more than that but Tadashi wasn't going to say anymore on it, "and you only have to meet him once. I'm not asking for much, I just want you guys to sit down with him for one meal."

"Tadashi..."

"I've never asked you guys for anything." Tadashi interrupted when Honey went to voice her opinion. "Please. Hiccup's saved my life more than once. I know he hurt you Gogo but he really was trying to protect you as strange as it seems."

The whole group fell into a silence. No one went to voice their thoughts and no one made a move to accept or decline his offer. Tadashi let out a sigh as the seconds ticked by and still no answer came. He wasn't expecting this to be easy, or for them to agree right off the bat, but he had still been hoping for it none the less. Dropping his head back while he continued to wait he returned his attention to the stars and the idea of maybe one day taking Hiccup out to go see them. Maybe if the boy wanted to they could even take Toothless with them and ride through the skies. That would be pretty cool.

"Alright fine." Gogo finally snapped, her voice drawing Tadashi's attention back down. "We'll meet him, but you better warn him that I get one good shot to his face the second I see him."

A small smile came to his face as Tadashi gave a nod of his head. He was sure Hiccup wouldn't mind that compromise, and he was sure that the boy really wasn't expecting anything less than that when he was going to come face to face with someone that he had hurt. He was just going to have to warn him a little in advance.

Everyone else seemed to be happy with that idea as well as they all gave small nods of their heads.

"If Gogo's okay with it than I guess I'm in." Hiro muttered, not seeing to be to happy about the situation as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Great." Tadashi all but exclaimed as he rocked himself back forward on his feet and headed towards them once more. "I can't wait for you guys to meet him. Trust me, after you get over the first bit you'll love him."

"I wouldn't count on that." Gogo grumbled as they all followed behind Tadashi while he lead them out of the alley and Sansfransokyo's more 'shadier' parts of town.

Tadashi just chose to ignore her however as he kept the smile on his face and continued on his way.


	18. Chapter 18

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 18

Tucked? Or untucked?

Hiccup frowned at himself in the mirror and he held the hem of his shirt in his hands. The endless debate had been going on over and over again in his head for the passed ten minutes and he still couldn't figure it out. If he tucked his shirt in than he might look more classy and therefore less threatening to Tadashi's group. He also might look overly nerdy though and the last thing he wanted to do was punch one of Tadashi's friends in the face for laughing. If he left it untucked however than they might think that he was a slob and an asshole. That wasn't the kind of image he wanted to give off either.

Grumbling lowly to himself Hiccup moved to tuck his shirt in before deciding against it and leaving it out. His frown deepened into a scowl when he found that he couldn't just leave his shirt like that and left it stuck in his hands.

It was ridiculous that he was getting so worked up over meeting new people. He'd met some of the scariest people in the world and had walked away with a smug smirk and exactly what he wanted. Why was it that he was freaking out over meeting a few nobodies that wouldn't be able to hold their own against him even if they attacked as a group? The reason came to him seconds later as he shifted in his spot uncomfortably and tucked his shirt back in.

These were Tadashi's friends he was going to meet. People that Tadashi cared for deeply and had made connections with. Even if this was going to be the only time that Hiccup would meet them he wanted to make a good impression. Regardless of the fact that they knew him as the guy who had tortured one of their members and was a ruthless leader of the underworld.

Ya, maybe he should leave his shirt tucked in just to enhance his geek-ness and make them feel a little bit calmer.

"Did you start shopping at my store Nerds-R-Us?"

The voice from behind him made Hiccup jump and release a small unmanly squeak. Quickly he tried to compose himself, crossing his arms as he spun around and scowled at the one who had snuck up on him, but Tadashi already had a hand clamped to his mouth, trying to keep himself from laughing to hard.

"Tadashi what the hell!" Hiccup growled, less than amused from his own embarrassment as Tadashi finished walking up to him. "When did you get in here? How did you...?"

"Just shush." Tadashi snickered, wrapping the boy up in his arms and pulling him tightly against his chest. "You're not the only one with stealth abilities, remember?" The slightly taller male chuckled as he gave the boy a gently peck to his forehead.

Hiccup huffed slightly, stilling feeling aggravated, but definitely more calm than he had before as Tadashi pulled back a little, his large hands now on the boy's shoulders.

"What are you wearing?"

Frowning at the amused grin over his face Hiccup took a glance down at himself. He really didn't know himself what he was wearing. A pair of black slacks that were wrinkled no thanks to being shoved in the back of his drawer and a white dress shirt that was a way to big on him considering that it had come from Snotlout, but he didn't have anything nicer to wear so...

"I..." Hiccup started before sealing his mouth shut when his eyes moved back up to see the soft smile that had fallen over Tadashi's lips. "I look like an idiot don't I?" He muttered, his shoulders dropping as his chest deflated.

When Tadashi moved his head from side to side as he took in the boy's full appearance again without comment Hiccup groaned as he clawed his hands through his hair and gave a low growl.

"Hey." Tadashi cooed, grabbing his hands and pulling them away before Hiccup could make himself bald. "I don't want you going to this thing dressed in something you're not comfortable in. The companies already going to set you on edge enough."

"Thanks for the reminder." Hiccup muttered, his hands already moving to undo his shirt. "I just want to make a good impression."

"And you will." Tadashi said, his hands batting the boy's away as he helped him undo the rest. "Just stop worrying about it so much alright?" He said, his lips brushing over Hiccup's softly and helping to ease his nerves.

Letting out a sigh in content this time Hiccup gave a small nod of his head in understanding.

"Alright."

When Tadashi smiled at him Hiccup could only smile back. It was nice how Tadashi was trying to make him feel better about the whole thing but he knew that there would be no way for this thing to go over smoothly. He could tell from what he had seen on the camera that he had slipped into Baymax just how overprotective Tadashi's friends were, and he knew that to them, he was a threat. He knew that they would see him as something that would have to be annihilated in order for Tadashi to be safe. None of this was something that he was going to voice out loud however since he didn't want to ruin Tadashi mood. For the passed few days leading up to this weekend Tadashi had been nothing but ecstatic and continuously going on about this and that and how much of a good idea this was. Hiccup didn't have the heart to tell him that this was never going to work and that by the end of the night he was sure something would go down.

"Let's grab you something else alright?" Tadashi said, his hand moving down to take a hold of one of Hiccup's as he pulled him back into the boy's only other room.

Hiccup continued to say nothing as he allowed himself to be pulled back towards his pathetic dresser and only stood back and watched as Tadashi started to rummage through what little he had.

As the Asian male picked out this and that Hiccup allowed his mind to wonder, wondering just how hard he was going to get hit in the face and if it would leave a mark. He knew from his experience in wrestling both Ruffnut and Astrid that females were no laughing matter when it came to a fight and could pack a punch just as good as the next guy. That being said he also knew that Astrid and Ruff also had way harder hits than the average women and he somewhat silently hoped that this Gogo girl didn't hit nearly as hard as they did. It wasn't so much for himself as it was for her either. He didn't care if there was a bruise left behind or if it hurt. He could understand why she would want to clock him in the head and he knew that on some level he deserved it, but if Astrid found out he feared for what she would do to the poor biker.

"Here ya go." Tadashi grinned, turning back to Hiccup with a handful of clothes.

Hiccup blinked down at the pile that was being offered to him. He could tell just from a quick glance that it consisted of his favorite pair of jeans and his favorite long sleeve shirt. Glancing from the pile to Tadashi and back again he slowly took the clump that was offered to him. While the items chosen were his favorite, he knew that they probably wouldn't hold up to the standers of what some of Tadashi's other friends would be wearing or his Aunt's approval.

When he was about to head back to the bathroom he found a small frown coming to his face when he was stopped as Tadashi refused to lessen his hold on the clothing. Looking up from the pile to the face of his boyfriend in confusion Hiccup felt his lips pinching together at the frown over the others face.

"Look Hiccup, if you don't want to do this..."

"I do." The words were out of his mouth before he could even think of them but Hiccup didn't give it a second thought. It was the truth.

The look over Tadashi's face on the other hand was doubtful as he relaxed his grip around the items.

"I don't want to force you into something that is going to make you uncomfortable." Tadashi said, his tone dead serious as Hiccup bit at the corner of his lip.

After a moments pause he placed the clothes on the top of his dresser and than shifted his weight over to his good foot.

"I do want to do this." He said, his words coming out slowly while he tried to sort though his thoughts. "I just... I haven't been around... um, you know, 'normal people' in a long time." Hiccup said, his brows drawing together while he spoke.

The darker haired male gave a small frown at that, one of his hands reaching down to intertwine their fingers together and giving a nod in understanding.

"They all hate me." It wasn't even a question, but a fact, and Hiccup could feel Tadashi's grip tighten in a form of comfort. "And I'm just a low life to them." Hiccup said, these ideas crossing his mind not for the first time. "They're not going to like me, I know they won't, but they're going to think that I don't deserve you, and they're right." Hiccup muttered, his face going blank as his eyes started at nothing while the idea hit home. "They're right."

He didn't fight it when Tadashi pulled him in, his chin resting on Hiccup's shoulder while he held onto the boy tightly.

"If they really think that, than they're wrong." Tadashi mumbled, his words soft as they ticked Hiccup's ear. "You're the whole reason I'm still here Hiccup. If there's anyone who doesn't deserve someone, it's me who doesn't deserve you."

Blinking himself back into focus Hiccup pulled away just a little bit to be able to look Tadashi in the eye.

"You know that's not true." He stated, but the brown eyed male only chuckled in amusement.

"You're amazing Hiccup." Tadashi grinned, bumping his nose against the boy's as Hiccup went slack jawed in confusion. "I find it hard to believe that you have managed to accomplish so much and yet you still don't see your own worth. As much as I want you to meet my friends I want you to know this first and foremost." Tadashi said, his tone suddenly serious as he moved his hands up and down the boy's arms to try and comfort him. "There is nothing in this world I wouldn't give up or leave behind if it meant that I got to stay with you. You're stuck with me. So whatever happens tonight, we'll get through it together."

As much as he wanted to, Hiccup couldn't stop the small, somewhat shy smile that came to his face. He knew that he would never make Tadashi chose, at least not again after the first time when he had told Tadashi that he didn't think they should see each other anymore, but he wasn't so sure about them. It was just nice to hear that Tadashi didn't want to leave him just as much as Hiccup didn't want to leave either. That even if his friends and Aunt didn't approve and wanted the two to separate, Tadashi would never allow it to happen.

Resting his forehead against the others Hiccup let out a soft sigh once more as he gave a small nod of his head.

"If you say so." He muttered, enjoying the heat that was radiating off of Tadashi's body in waves while the older male gave another light chuckle.

"Come on." Tadashi said, giving the boy a quick peck before he pulled away and snatched up the pile of clothing. "Let's do this."

Rolling his eyes Hiccup snatched the articles out of his hands and moved back towards his door-less bathroom.

"Sir yes sir."

(***)

The second that Hiccup entered into the building he nearly ducked back out again. The only thing that had kept him in place was the fact that Tadashi had placed a hand on his back and gave him a slight push forward, as if he had known what the boy was thinking and wasn't going to have any of it. Sneaky prick.

"Hey everyone." Tadashi greet, not seeming to mind that everyone's attention was on the brunet and not him. "This is Hiccup."

Hiccup felt his stomach drop at the glares that he received in return. He didn't know what to do about the obvious hate that was being shot at him. Normally if people ever even thought of giving him that kind of open disrespect he would just remind them who they were dealing with. These were Tadashi's friends and family however and he doubted that putting any of them in the hospital would earn him any brownie points.

Chewing on the inside of his cheek he gave a small wave of his hand as he tried to keep himself from getting frostbite from the sudden drop in temperature in the room.

"Hi."

His voice came out in almost a silent whisper and he wanted to curse himself for it but he was a little more distracted with the fact that they actually seemed to tense at it rather than relax. He could almost feel the urge they had to jump him souring the air but like hell he was going to be the one to make the first move. He was in Tadashi's world now and he had to be on his best behavior. The only problem was that he didn't know how he was supposed to act around these guys.

He let a a short sigh through his noes when the one girl he did recognize walked up to him at a fast pace. Readying himself for the impact he didn't move when she drew her fist back and smoked him right across his left cheek. The blow was hard but thankfully she didn't have anything on Astrid or Ruff, maybe more of a Snotlout hit than anything which was nothing to laugh about in itself but wasn't nearly as damaging as the aforementioned people.

Giving his head a small shake Hiccup turned back to the girl and gave her a small smile.

"Guess I deserved that." He muttered, her eyes narrowing in rage over how well he took her hit.

"Yes you did." She hissed, her voice low as she jabbed a finger into his chest. "You deserve way more than that but I only got permission for one."

"And that's all you're going to get." Tadashi said, the tone in his voice a warning about what would happen if she tried to get in another free shot.

Neither of the two broke eye contact a she snarled at the brunet before turning and stomping back over to the rest of her group. Hiccup couldn't help but frown as he wonder if maybe this was enough to get him off of the hook for meeting them and if he could skip the whole meal which he was sure was going to be a huge does of pure awkwardness. After all it would be sitting with the person who had sent him to juvi, the guy he was secretly dating, the girl he had tortured about a year or two ago, and everyone else who looked about ready to claw out his eyes.

When the hand on his back pushed him into the room a little bit more, making him stumble in shock he realized that there would be no such luck tonight.

'Gods help me.' He couldn't stop the thought from coming to mind as he stuck close to Tadashi's side, knowing he wasn't going to be welcome anywhere else.

"Hiccup this is..."

"Wasabi, Gogo, Fred, Honey Lemon, and Hiro." Hiccup interrupted, nodding to each in turn of their names while they raised a brow at him in question. "I checked them out after you told me about Gogo." Hiccup said, shoving his hands deep in his pockets so no one could see how bad they were twitching.

While Tadashi seemed to accept his answer right off the bat, the rest of the group looked a little 'weirded out'.

"You looked us up?" Wasabi asked, his face twisted in to one of disgust while Hiccup shrugged.

"When I heard about Gogo it made me wonder if there was anyone from my... um circles, that had found out about him. I wanted to make sure that one of you wasn't someone who was going to hurt him later."

"That's awfully sweet of you." Hiro sneered as he crossed his arms over his chest while Hiccup frowned at him. "Considering all of the people you piss off daily I'm sure my brother enjoys the target you've painted on his back."

"Hiro." Tadashi snapped as Hiccup tilted his head to the side.

He'd never really thought about it like that, but...

"Tadashi can hold his own." Hiccup said in response as all of their attention turned to the dark haired friend in shock. "He's just a bit of a softy and sometimes trusts the wrong people. I was afraid it would get him in trouble if this was the case."

"Well now you see why we're worried." Hiro shot in, his narrowed gaze moving back to the auburn haired male.

Much to their surprise Hiccup chuckled lowly at the comment, the smile over his face sharp and deadly as his next words slid off of his tongue like a fatal poison.

"You shouldn't worry." He smirked, his voice smooth and causing a visible shiver to run down each of their spines. "I've been known to destroy anything that tries to hurt the ones I'm close to."

While the group leaned away from him with mixed looks of horror and shock over their faces Tadashi gave him a knowing smile as he dropped his arm around his shoulders, obviously appreciating the comment. Hiccup gave him a somewhat sheepish smile back and fought against himself not to lean up and place a quick peak on the others lips. It was going to be harder than he thought not to act like a couple.

"Okay guys! Dinners ready!"

Hiccup's eyes shot to the stairs where the voice had come from, his shoulders hunching up in defense as if the voice had declared that it was coming to kill them all. When he felt Tadashi lightly squeeze his shoulders he forced himself to relax as he took in a deep breath. For a moment no one moved. Than, slowly, one by one, they headed up the stairs, Hiccup and Tadashi legging behind.

"You're doing good so far." The elder Hamada brother whispered in his ear as Hiccup sucked in a breath.

"Sure I am." He muttered, frowning when he was forced to go up the stairs before Tadashi. Damn, there went his plan on running away.

As he reached the top Hiccup felt his stomach drop once more as he realized that everyone was already seated, and that they hadn't left a spot for him and Tadashi to sit together. His options were either between Wasabi and Gogo with Fred hanging out on Gogo's side at the end of the table, or Honey and Hiro with their Aunt sitting next to Honey. When he felt Tadashi's hand on his back again, once more pushing him forward Hiccup had no choice but to enter into his doom. When his boyfriend came up and saw the seating arrangements a frown came to his face, not in the least amused at the show of disrespect by his friends. Neither of them chose to comment on it as they played it off, Tadashi taking the spot between Wasabi and Gog leaving Hiccup the place between Honey and Hiro.

Hiccup felt his discomfort growing as he chewed on his bottom lip when he realized that they weren't even sitting across from each other. This was going to be the most awkward dinner he'd ever been to, and he'd dinned with hardcore mobsters.

"Hiccup is that you?"

He jumped at the sound of his name, fighting every instinctual nerve that told him to quickly defend himself as an older women popped up out of nowhere right between him and Hiro.

"My how you've grown." She grinned, her eyes bright and, oddly enough, her expression honest. "When I found out that Tadashi was hanging out with you again I wondered what you looked like." She continued, placing a plate full of warm food on his place mat with a grin. "I guess puberty was good to you hm?"

Feeling his face grow warm Hiccup gave a sloppy shrug of his shoulders as he tried to play off his embarrassment.

"Guess so. Grew into my limbs and everything." He comment as he eyed the food, wondering if maybe he shouldn't eat it.

Sure it looked good, but how did he know that she didn't put something in it? She had given him up in order to protect Tadashi before, he wouldn't put it passed her to knock him out and get the rest of the group to ship him off in order to protect him again.

When she gave a lighthearted chuckle and pinched his cheek he decided to wait until everyone had eaten a little bit first and see how they reacted to it.

"What is it you even do?" Hiro asked suddenly, his glare still in place as he plopped his chin against his hand while his Aunt finished handing out plates.

"Uh..." How was he supposed to explain that?

"Here, let me make it simpler for you." Hiro said with a roll of his eyes and a tone that Hiccup didn't appreciate. "Is there anything that you do that's legal?"

"Hiro for the love of..." Tadashi sighed, his fingers massaging the space between his brow as Hiccup gave a quick glance over at him.

"I help with the upgrade systems of prosthetic research." Hiccup muttered, wondering if the whole night was going to go this smoothly. So far he hadn't attacked anyone and no one had provoked him to do so, yet. If it continued like this he was pretty sure he was good.

"Really?" Fred asked, already poking at his food as the last plates were set and their Aunt sat down. "What got you into that?"

With a shrug Hiccup watched as everyone started into their food, none of them taking their eyes off him for more than a few seconds as if they thought he was going to swipe out at them.

"I had a lot of problems with mine and as I was fixing it up I thought that it would help other people too."

He had no problem telling these guys about the fact that he was missing a limb, mostly because Tadashi had told him that he had let it slip. Apparently however he'd also found out a few days later that they hadn't really believed him when he mentioned it. They just thought it was either Tadashi being over dramatic, or him trying to guilt trip them into saying yes.

At their silence now however he could pretty much hear their unasked question ringing in his ears.

"I lost it a few years ago." He said simply, taking a bite of his chicken Alfredo, something he'd watched everyone else take a bite out of first.

"So I heard." Gogo said sharply, reaching out to wrap her fingers tightly around her cup. Briefly Hiccup wondered if she was imagining it as his neck. "How'd it happen?"

"It's really not a dinner conversation." Hiccup snapped back. He didn't owe them any explanation or justification of his what had gone down to leave him with one less leg.

"From what I heard it was to keep the same thing from happening to me." She continued, ignoring the warning in his voice.

"Than you heard right." Hiccup muttered, snatching up his own drink and taking a few sips. He was hoping to cool the burning rage in his stomach, but it did little to help.

"I've never heard of someone who would take someones leg because they dropped something. The items were found, they weren't even all that hard to find."

"Can we please talk about something else?" Tadashi interrupted before Hiccup could said another word, his honey brown gaze narrowing at his friend next to his side.

Gogo simply took another bite of her food while glaring right back.

"He started it, talking about helping people with prosthetic. I'm simply making polite conversation."

"Sure." Hiccup snorted with a shake of his head as he ripped off a piece of the slice of garlic bread on his plate. "Reminding someone about having their leg taken off with a hand saw after it was smashed to bits while they were still awake is just what I want to think about while eating, but alright, I suppose I did bring it up since Hiro asked what I did that was legal and making prosthetics is one of the only things that comes to mind that you guys would be able to comprehend." Hiccup said in the most nonchalant way before popping the piece in his mouth.

He was slightly satisfied by the silence that fell after that. He didn't mind the silence, he would have preferred it really. It was so much better than the stupid questions that they ask to remind him just what they thought about him.

"If you think that's going to give you any sympathy..."

"Save it." Hiccup hissed, his eyes snapping up to lock with Gogo's, his stare alone freezing the words in her throat. "You don't survive on pity, or sympathy and I'm not looking for either. I'm just letting you know it's useless to bitch about your problems because, Sweetheart, they can get a whole lot worse."

"Hiccup."

Turning his glare to the one sitting next to her Hiccup frowned at the look on Tadashi's face. He was pretty much begging the boy to play nice and ease up a little. Feeling somewhat guilty Hiccup let out a sigh as he sat back in his chair and turned back to Gogo. He was doing this for Tadashi, not for them, and it would mean the world to the darker haired male if he at least tried to be nice.

"I'm sorry Gogo, that was...out of line."

She didn't say anything, but when she went back to eating her food Hiccup figured that she was done with him, at least for now.

As he continued eating Hiccup could feel the urge to hurl the food up again his stomach was so twisted. He really, really, didn't want to be here. He would rather be hanging out with the rest of his riders, or Dagur, or Krei, or just him and Tadashi. This was just to weird. The atmosphere was heavy and awkward and he didn't know what to say or do and he could tell that everyone was staring at him and Tadashi was so far away.

"Where are your parents?"

Hiccup wasn't to surprised that the question came from Hiro, but he was a little shocked that the question came at all. His fork froze halfway to his mouth and he didn't feel very hungry anymore. Licking at his suddenly dry lips he lowered his fork back to his plate as he gave a small head tilt in the boy's direction.

"Hiro!" Tadashi snapped, his voice startling everyone at the table and making them jump.

From the sly grin that came over Hiro's face not even seconds later Hiccup knew this wasn't going to go anywhere good. No doubt he realized that he was hitting a sore spot and was now going to beat the living shit out of it.

"Oh. I see. So your story is pretty much just another abandoned child story right? I wouldn't blame them if it was." Hiro said, no one bothering to stop him but looking as if they were willing to jump to his aid should he need it. "Or maybe it wasn't abandonment. Maybe you just had a whole, 'mad at the world' thing going on and just took off. They must be pretty disappointed to see what you've grown into."

"Um..." Honey was the one who muttered anything first, probably noticing the tight grip that Hiccup had on the knife in his hand and just how much it was shaking with the urge to stab the kid in his smug face.

Hiccup didn't know what to do though. He couldn't hurt the kid. One; Hiro really had no idea what he was setting himself up for, two; he was Tadashi's little brother and hurting him would upset the male, and three; Hiro was just a bratty little kid trying to protect his brother from someone that he thought was a good for nothing monster. That didn't mean that the idea of beating him for talking about his parents like that didn't sound appealing.

"You seen them since you got back? Or are you avoiding them since you know they'd be ashamed of the failure that you grew up into?"

With that as his last straw Hiccup shot up from his seat. His sudden movement made Wasabi reach across the table and grab him while Gogo got to her feet with her own knife in hand. Aunt Cass and Honey quickly got up and moved out of the way while Fred quickly snatched Hiro and pulled him out of the line of fire. Hiccup tried to pull his arm back from the darker skinned male but his grip remained strong and he wouldn't budge. When Gogo started around the table with the knife Tadashi placed his hands under the table and flipped the whole thing over.

Stunned silence filled the room as all eyes turned to Tadashi, everyone shrinking back at the look of pure rage settling over his face. He didn't say anything, shoving Wasabi back and forcing him to let go as he walked around the table, avoiding the mess before he reached out and wrapped his hand around Hiccup's upper arm.

"Come on. We're leaving."

Hiccup didn't say anything, just snapped his mouth shut and gave a nod of his head. He'd never seen Tadashi so angry before and at this moment he couldn't tell if the guy was going to drag him out to beat him or if he just wanted to get away as badly as Hiccup did. Hiccup just hoped that he knew that he wasn't going to hurt Hiro. He had gotten up so he could leave.

"Tadashi wait!" Hiro called, trying to move forward only to be pulled back by Fred when the older Hamada brother snapped his head around to glare at the small group. "You can't go with him, he was going to..."

"Going to what Hiro!?" Tadashi snapped, his whole frame tense and shaking with the strain it took not to just go berserk. Sensing that the situation might get a lot worse if Tadashi did something he might regret later, Hiccup placed his free hand on the others strong shoulder to help ease his anger back."He was going to leave." Tadashi hissed, his voice calming down some with the comfort that Hiccup provided. "And I don't blame him. He's not even here for twenty minutes and you guys can't even muster up the decency to be civil for two of them." Suddenly his attention snapped to his Aunt and Hiccup could feel him relax even more. "Sorry about the mess Aunt Cass. I'll clean it up later."

The auburn haired male didn't say a word or fight against him when Tadashi started to move him down the stairs. His head was still reeling with Hiro's questions and he felt as if he would throw up everything in a matter of seconds. Thankfully he managed to keep it all down at they were hit by the cool night air, but his throat burned and his eyes burned and his stomach felt tight as the questioned spun around in his head. His guilt wasn't helping with settling his stomach either and he felt his fingers twitch as he bit down hard on the corner of his lip.

He hadn't meant for that to happen. He should have just excused himself and gotten up from the table slowly. He should have just sucked it up and stayed there. He should have thanked their Aunt for the food, or just ignored Hiro. He shouldn't have forced Tadashi to step in. He didn't mean to put an even bigger wedge between the slightly older male and his family. Hiccup would never do anything like that. He knew how painful it was to lose one.

"You should go back."

His words were nearly whispered in the dark as they turned down corner after corner, getting deeper and deeper into the city.

"You should go back and apologize or something. Tell them that they're right. You need to fix this Tadas..."

"Stop it." Tadashi snapped, turning on the boy so fast that Hiccup jerked back, bumping into a lamppost that had stopped working years before. "Just stop Hiccup."

All of his anger was gone, the look over his face now just showing how tired he was as he caught the boy's gaze in his own and held it.

"I'm so sorry." Tadashi said, his words shocking the slightly smaller male as his lips parted in slight confusion. "I didn't know that they would act that way towards you. I thought that they would have been better than that and the family questions were just a low blow and... I'm sorry. You were right. This was a terrible idea."

Huffing to cover up the small whimper that nearly slipped passed his lips Hiccup took a few steps closer to the other and ducked his head underneath his chin, pretty much snuggling up to him in the cool night air. He felt a bit better when Tadashi wrapped one arm around his waist and than threaded his fingers through his hair as Hiccup moved his own arms to wrapped around his waist.

"I'm sorry the night didn't end like you wanted it to." Hiccup admitted, his chest tight with the guilt he felt over the whole situation. "I should have handled that better."

"No he..."

"He's just a kid Tadashi." Hiccup sighed, the sting of the words refusing to fade as he reminded himself about the fact. "He's just afraid of what could happen to you if you hangout with me, and your friends are just trying to hel..."

"They don't want to help." Tadashi scoffed. "They just want everything to go back to normal. They want me to be the perfect person again. They want the fake me back. They don't want to accept this part of my life, but that's just to bad because I like this part of my life."

"You shouldn't." Hiccup chuckled, the amusement not reaching the sound as he gave a small smile to the other.

When Tadashi just continued to frown down at him Hiccup felt his own weak smile fall from his lips.

"Your parents wouldn't be disappointed in you Hiccup."

The shock of those words sent a small jolt through Hiccup, as if he had touched the handle of a door after dragging his feet across a carpet. His eyes blurred with tears in a record amount of time and a choked sob slipped passed his lips before he could contain it.

He hadn't mentioned his parents in years, but he thought of them everyday. The questions that Hiro had asked were always ones that Hiccup asked himself and he always wondered just what the answers would be. He missed them. Gods did he ever miss them. He hadn't even been allowed to go to their funeral, or visit their grave for years after they died, and than when he was free, he could never bring himself to go. All because of that one question. Would they be proud of him? Would they want him to soil their graves in boots covered in the blood of people who got in his way. Would they approve of the paths he had chosen? Would they be able to bring themselves to look at him? Would they even recognize him if he talked to their gravestones?

He knew they wouldn't. He knew that if they could see him now, if they were in fact watching, they would shed tears over the life that he had gone down. They wouldn't have been able to look at his without holding shame in their eyes.

Hearing the words coming from Tadashi's lips he could almost swear that they could have been true.

Tadashi didn't say anything as he took a hold of Hiccup's hand and continued to lead them back to the boy's house. He didn't comment on the way that Hiccup had to continuously rub at his eyes and sniffle while they walked. When they finally got home, stumbling onto his lumpy mattress that laid across the dirty floor, he didn't force Hiccup to talk about it as he just held the boy close and continued to pet his hair.

Hiccup knew, regardless of the fact that their plans had ended in disaster, he wouldn't have traded this night for anything.


	19. Chapter 19

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 19

All he could hear was screaming. All he could feel was screaming. It forced its way under his skin and shook his bones. It made his ears ring and made him clench his teeth to keep them from rattling in his skull. No matter how hard he pressed his hand against his ears it wouldn't stop either. It wouldn't be muted. It was almost as if the noise wasn't coming from outside, but from within. Like the voices, the screams, the begging, the pain, like it was inside his head. A place he couldn't escape.

His eyes were held tight, but he could see the lights shifting before him. Many bodies, a little less, only two. A column of darkness falls to the floor. The noise vibrates up his feet, adding more quaking to his sobbing self.

He can feel the wetness around him. It's not light, like rain water, but thick and hot. It makes his stomach turn and he can't escape it. It covers his arms and face, his legs and his feet. The screaming continues, but he can't get away from it. He can't move, not if he doesn't want the screaming to intensify.

There's one voice. One sound that makes the blood run cold in his veins and makes him shake worse than all of the screaming. It's loud bellows of laughter that send a shard of ice straight into his soul.

The voice just laughs and laughs.

Cruel. Relentless. Void.

It gets louder and louder. He pressed his hands against his ears harder and harder, to the point were he feels like he's going to shatter his own skull and his arms are shaking with the effort, burning in pain. But it doesn't stop, it just comes closer.

Than there's silence.

It's so sudden he gasps. His body tenses in shock and than...

'Don't close your eyes boy.'

Hiccup bolted up in bed with a scream tearing itself from his throat. His heart was pounding in his chest and his whole body was covered in a sweat that made cold air kiss his skin and him shake just as violently as he had in his dream. No, not a dream, a nightmare. A hand wrapped around his arm and he snapped. With his mind in a panic he lashed out at whatever nightmare still haunted him, his aim off in the blinding darkness of the night. When a pair of strong arms wrapped around him he cursed out, thrashing in their hold and snarling about the very painful death he was going to put them through that would make them wish...

"Hiccup."

The voice was soft, nearly a whisper, but he halted. The vice like grip around him loosened and a hand ran thick, calloused fingers threw his hair.

"It's okay."

Gasping Hiccup dropped like a dead weight in Tadashi's arms.

"It was a dream." He gasped out, trying to will his heart rate down and get more air in his lungs. "It was just a dream."

"Sh." Tadashi whispered, his other arm shifting around his waist and pulling him against a bare but warm chest. "It's alright."

Hiccup screwed his eyes shut, trying to will the memories from his mind as he brought his own hand up to fist in his bangs, his other hand tightly wrapping around the wrist around his waist. He didn't know what he was doing, but he just had to hold onto something. He had to ground himself in this reality and move himself away from the one he had thought was real.

That dream though. That nightmare. He hadn't had it in so long.

He squinted into the darkness of the room, light, dry kisses being placed across the to hot flesh of the back of his neck.

In the shadows he could almost swear that he could see them. He could almost make out their faces, their captors. He could almost see what was going on, that they had...

Hiccup just managed to lean over the edge of the bed before he emptied the small amount of his dinner on the floor.

He was sure that if he didn't feel so tired, if his body wasn't so on edge and tense, he would have been embarrassed at what he'd just done, but instead he just dropped against the bed.

That dream. It had been so long.

But not long enough.

Other than muttering reassurances, Tadashi remained mostly silent, something that Hiccup was grateful for as he finally managed to calm down.

"I'm sorry." He rasped out, only noticing now how dry his throat was.

"Don't be." Tadashi mumbled back, his thumb moving in smooth circles across the boy's stomach.

Hiccup licked his dry lips and swallowed passed the dryness in his throat. He'd never told Tadashi what had happened to his parents. Never told him how he had ended up on the streets. Never told him how he had learned so much, how he knew just what kind of buttons to press to make others fall to his knees. He had told him somethings, but not enough. He knew that he should tell Tadashi everything, but there was something holding him back, something that clawed at the back of his mind just what a bad idea it would be if he did so.

"I had a dream about my parents." Hiccup said, forcing himself to admit to at least that much.

The hand came to a halt. "Oh?"

"About the night they died."

"Hiccup."

Tadashi's voice was soft, and Hiccup allowed himself to be pulled closer as the darker haired male gave him a kiss in the place just above his ear. "Don't tell me if you're not ready."

Hiccup went boneless in his hold.

"Thank you."

Maybe Tadashi's friends were right. Maybe Hiccup was bad for Tadashi. No matter what though he wasn't going to give him up. Tadashi was his only light in his world of darkness. His angel that helped to cage his demons. He wanted to be selfish and keep him all to himself. At least for right now. At least for tonight. If Tadashi decided down the road that he was done with him. If he gave up on him and went back to them... Hiccup would let him go. It would kill him, but he would do it.

As Tadashi continued to whisper sweet nothings to him, Hiccup could feel his eyes grow heavy, and in a matter of minutes, he was out again.

(***)

It had been three weeks. Three weeks since the dinner that had ended in such a terrible disaster. Tadashi had been true to the word he had given his Aunt though, and once he'd made sure that Hiccup was sleeping peacefully and he had cleaned up the mess he made, he'd gone straight back home and cleaned up the table that he'd flipped over.

While he was there he'd also picked up a bag and shoved a good chunk of his clothes into it. His brother wasn't awake, and although he knew that it would have been better to wake him up and say goodbye, Tadashi hadn't. He'd still felt the burn of rage in his stomach from his brother's relentless questioning of Hiccup's parents. He'd still blamed Hiro for the nightmare that had shaken Hiccup worse than Tadashi had ever seen him. So he'd just slipped out of his room without another sound.

He hadn't made it to the bottom of the stairs before he'd run into his Aunt.

She had taken one look at his bag and looked away. She hadn't made a move to stop him. She just gave a nod of her head and bit back her protest. Tadashi had felt terrible about it. He knew that she had tried. He knew that she had put forth an effort to make Hiccup feel comfortable for his sake, just as Hiccup had tried to be friendly with Tadashi's friends. He also knew that in her heart she knew that if tonight hadn't worked this was going to be the outcome. That's why she had tried so hard to put up a good face for Hiccup. She wanted him to stay. She had wanted to be able to make sure that Tadashi still came home in the wee hours of the morning.

He knew that both of them regretted the outcome of the night in their own ways.

Tadashi had just wanted Hiccup to feel welcome in his world.

His Aunt had just wanted to make sure Tadashi stayed in it.

He'd almost stopped going to school. The moment he even mentioned the idea however Hiccup kicked his ass about it and refused to participate in any of their 'nightly' activities until Tadashi had changed his mind. He was back the Tuesday after the dinner. He wouldn't sit next to any of his friends though. None of them could even look at each other. Tadashi had still to find out if it was because they were ashamed of him for choosing Hiccup's side, or if they were ashamed of their own behavior. He still sat next to Hiro though. They wouldn't talk to each other, but they could at least see that the other was doing well.

On top of being back in school, Tadashi started taking his classes seriously once more. He caught up in all of his missed essays and assignments. Even worked on some extra projects in order to boost his grades up a little more from his sip earlier in the year. He spent hours every night on his homework and perfecting his notes. His teachers were impressed, his friends a little confused. Tadashi wasn't going to mention to anyone that the only reason was because Hiccup had hacked into their schools computer and seen Tadashi's grades. When he saw how low they were he'd sworn to no sex until they were better.

Nothing helped to focus his mind more than a goal.

And by the ending of the third week he'd all to happily claimed his prize.

Three weeks of getting over the fiasco that had been plans to bring Hiccup into his world.

Now all Tadashi could do was blink as Hiccup sat before him at their tiny, wobbly table, still waiting for an answer to the question he'd asked a moment ago.

He watched as Hiccup arched a brow at him, but it didn't speed up his answer any as he continued to process it.

"You want me to meet your friends?"

"Yup." Hiccup said, a quick nod of his head accompanying his words. "They're an... interesting group of people, but I think you would fit right in."

Tadashi sat back in his seat slightly, a small frown pulling at his lips. "Just like how I thought you would fit in with mine?"

"No. This one will go better, I swear." Hiccup said, a light of amusement lighting up his eyes. "They like to play with their food a little bit before they tare into it."

"Oh that's comforting."

Hiccup laughed at the sass that his boyfriend threw at him and briefly Tadashi wondered if maybe the brunet was rubbing off on him way to much. Still a smile worked its way over his face at the sight of the boy laughing, something he didn't do often enough for his own good.

After Hiccup had taken a second to calm down Tadashi gave a bit of a more serious thought to the question.

"What happens if they try to attack me?" He asked, earning himself a shrug.

"Fight back. You could defend yourself very easily from them. Most couldn't but you can."

"You'd actually let me hit your friends?" Tadashi said, giving his boyfriend a point blank look.

Hiccup on the other hand just intertwined his fingers and rested his chin across them. "If they're looking for a fight with you than I wouldn't expect you to just sit there Tadashi. That's not how we do things."

But it certainly was the way that Tadashi's own group had done it. Letting out a small sigh he poked at his food with his fork for a moment. It wasn't so much over the fact that he was deciding if he was going to take the invite or not, he just wanted a few more seconds to go over everything that could go wrong.

"Do they know who I am?" Tadashi asked, raising his brows to accompany his words.

While he had no shame in what he had done in the past and the name he had built for himself he couldn't help but wonder if people knew that the one who hung around Fury was his old partner, Skrill. Sometimes he would hear it whispered in the shadows that Skrill was back and that Tadashi was him, but it wasn't very often. It seemed to be that he was almost rebuilding a reputation once more when he started hanging around Hiccup again, but it was a little bit different than before.

"One does." Hiccup admitted, "but I made sure she wouldn't tell anyone else. I wanted you to have the choice of how they saw you. You could introduce yourself as Tadashi, or you could do it as Skrill. Either way it doesn't matter to me."

But it could make all the difference to Tadashi. He could introduce himself as Skrill, one of the most feared people in all of Sansfransokyo who had become a legend in his young age. Or he could introduce himself as Tadashi Hamada, a nerdy guy who could hold his own in a fight but other than hanging around Hiccup had never been involved in the kind of dark world they were. While both sides had their appeal Tadashi didn't know what one would be better.

After a moment of debating back and forth he let out a sigh and gave a nod of his head.

"Alright. I'll go."

Hiccup smiled back at him brightly, his hand reaching across the table to firmly wrap his own fingers around Tadashi's.

"Thank you."

Tadashi gave him a nod of his head, a soft smile over his lips at how easy it was to make the boy smile sometimes.

Besides, it wasn't like the dinner could go much worse than the one he'd dragged Hiccup to. He owed him this much at least.


	20. Chapter 20

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 20

"I'm done."

His Aunt didn't say anything as he pushed his nearly untouched plate away from himself. Shoving his hands into the deep pockets of his worn hoodie he got to his feet and trudged his way to the staircase. He remembered a few weeks ago when his Aunt stilled tried to make conversation, still tried to force him to eat, but after awhile she gave up and allowed him to do as he pleased, giving him his own time to adjust to the situation.

As Hiro made it to the top of the stairs he didn't even think twice before he went straight to Tadashi's side of the room. The divider had cracks in its thin wooden frame and some of the paper was ripped, but it had been repaired by a countless amount of duck tape until it could stand on its own again. In fact everything in this part of the room looked a little damaged, but also looked as if someone had gone through great lengths to put everything back together again.

It was a constant reminder to Hiro about just how badly he'd snapped when he'd woken up and his Aunt had told him that Tadashi had left.

He'd tore down everything from Tadashi's side, smashed everything he could get his hands on and shredded anything that he couldn't pick up. He'd scream and yelled at nothing and no one, at everything and everyone until his throat was raw and he collapsed in a panting heap on the floor. When he'd sat there long enough for the sun to dip and the moon to rise, the mindless fog that had settled over him lifted.

He could still remember going through the motion of picking everything back up, trying to put everything back together. He could still feel the sobs shaking his thin frame and the hot tears running down his fevered cheeks. He knew that Tadashi leaving was his fault. He knew that he'd pushed his brother to far.

There had never been a time in his life when he'd thought that Tadashi could be anything different than his overprotective, nerdy older brother. Never once had he thought of what his brother had gone through after their parents had died, it had never occurred to him that Tadashi could be anything but the sweet, caring guardian that watched over Hiro.

At the dinner though. After he'd flipped the table. When he went to Hiccup's side rather than Hiro's...

At first he'd been so angry about that. He'd hated his brother for choosing the street rat over him, but than he thought about it more and more, and his mind went back to what Tadashi had said before the dinner. What he'd told his friends when he'd pleaded with them to meet Hiccup. He'd said that Hiccup grew up on the streets. That he became what he was in order to protect himself from worse things. That he'd saved Tadashi life. That he'd lost his leg in place of Gogo's.

Hiccup, the man they all assumed to be a monster had tried his hardest to win them over. He'd tried, for Tadashi's sake, to be nice to them and to try and be accepted by them.

Hiro had been so focused on his rage and his hate that he hadn't even realized what that might mean to someone like Hiccup, someone who probably never looked for anyone's approval, someone who could have easily destroyed them if he so chose. And how did they react? In return for his attempt at fitting in and offering a hand they had gone for his throat. Hiro himself had mentioned his parents and after finding out what a sore spot it was still continued to pour salt onto the wound.

He knew that they all deserved Tadashi's outburst that night. Their actions, regardless of their intentions, were shameful.

That was the reason Hiro still couldn't talk to his brother. The reason that he could barely look at him. His stomach was just so twisted up in guilt that he could bare eat or breath around his brother, and no matter how loud he shouted how sorry he was in his mind, Tadashi never heard him. It made him feel sick to know the strength it had taken for Tadashi to open up that part of his life to he ones he had cared for most, and he couldn't imagine his brother's pain when they had just spat back in his face.

It didn't matter what Tadashi had done or the choices he'd made or what he had chosen. At the end of the day they were still brothers, and Hiro should have stood by him no matter what, and yet... He'd shoved his brother off the deep end the moment his perfect illusion had been shattered.

He didn't have to agree with Tadashi, but he didn't have to turn his back on him either.

Sitting on the very edge of the bed Hiro clasped his hands together to keep them from shaking.

Once, when he'd been younger, he'd always thought that it would be cool when Tadashi had moved out. He would go on and on about how having the whole room to himself would be so amazing and all the ideas he had for Tadashi's little corner. Now that it had happened he only felt just how big the room was. Just how empty it seemed to be without Tadashi's laughter filling up the spaces or his mocking teasing.

He knew that he had to fix this. He just didn't know how.

Really the first thing that he knew he had to do was apologize to Hiccup. The guy seemed to mean so much to his brother that he was sure if he wanted to show Tadashi just ho serious he was about getting back on good terms, apologizing to his friend would be the first step. The only problem with his plan however was that he had no idea where Hiccup was, or how he could find him. The only place he had seen Hiccup was outside that new club one time when...

Hiro's mind came to a slow halt, his whole body going limp.

He had found Hiccup once before, in a place where the guy actually seemed pretty comfortable. If he was at ease than maybe it was a place that he went to often.

Moving faster than he had in weeks Hiro shot across his room from his brother's side. Darting down the stairs he shouted out a quick apology to his Aunt when he nearly collided into her on his way.

He had to find Hiccup. He had to fix what he had broken if he still could. He knew that people weren't like objects. They couldn't be fixed with simple duck tape and glue, but he had to try mending back the pieces of his life.

(***)

Oddly enough Tadashi didn't feel to nervous as he followed after Hiccup to the Dragons Den, the club that they had visited often over the last three weeks. Apparently it was owned by one of Hiccup's friends, along with some other dragon themed places, like the place where they had gotten food all those months ago when Tadashi had woken up with a killer hangover. He wouldn't say it out loud, but the idea that they were all well feared members of Riders Edge, as he had found out their group was called, and that they all owned little dragon themed business during the day was actually rather adorable.

The thing that had him the most calm however was the fact that Hiccup was holding his hand. He had been told before they left that the riders all knew that they were dating and that they didn't have to hide it. As much as admitting the fact probably made him look soft, he felt like even the simple action of holding hands was doing well enough to keep him grounded. The tiny display of affection was just enough to show that Hiccup didn't a shit who saw them and what anyone else thought about their relationship.

Tadashi had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed that they had made their way back into the VIP area. He felt his stomach twist in childish excitement at seeing the people that Hiccup had pick to join his group and he couldn't wait to see what interesting characters the boy surrounded himself with.

As they drew closer to the table in the very back corner his head tilted to the side while he heard a mixture of voices. Two were laughing almost hysterically while one was panicked and quick. Than there was a voice that sounded like a mix between a sigh and a groan and one that seemed to be attempting to be cool and failed completely. The different personalities already being presented quirked his interest and soon enough Tadashi was brought up to the table to be able to put faces to voices.

The two laughing appeared to be twins, one male and one female with long almost platinum blond hair that went passed the table and to an area he couldn't see. Their lips on their oval faces were drawn up in twisted smirks and they were armed to the teeth with cutlery. The one sitting next to them was much larger, both in height and in weight. He also had blond hair but his hair was shorter, choppier almost. His eyes were also green and in them, while the twin held insanity, he seemed to hold a locked library of knowledge. Although at the current moment he also looked like he was ready to bolt away from the two fork wielding blonds. Beside him was a much shorter male, but he was thicker in muscle. He had dark brown hair that wasn't nearly as long as the twins, but wasn't as short as the other blond. His eyes were also blue and his face was squared with a strong jaw that was holding a smirk as he was leaning into the space of their last member. She had a more soft looking round face, with perfect blond hair that was done in a side braid and bright blue eyes that were in the midst of a roll. She was the first one to notice the two that had walked up to their table and Tadashi felt the nervousness he'd been free of all day hit him like a tidal wave as her lips curled up into a feral smirk.

"Well, look who's finally arrived." She purred, sparing no thought to the one at her side as she shoved his face away from her space. "Our leader and his boyfriend."

Not knowing what else to do Tadashi gave the table a small wave as the rest turned their attention to him.

"So tell me something Hun." She continued as Hiccup slid in the booth first and pulled Tadashi into the seat beside him. "Does Hiccup ride your dragon as well as he rides Toothless?"

"Astrid!"

Both of their faces went flaming red as the girl burst out in laughter. Tadashi didn't know how he was supposed to answer that and what Hiccup would do if he did. He didn't even know how she knew about who was doing what in their bedroom, unless Hiccup told her or something but he highly doubted that.

"I'm just playing with you." She grinned, reaching across Hiccup and planting a solid punch to his arm that throbbed a little after the action. "My names Astrid, also known as Storm."

Nodding his head in understanding Tadashi took the offered hand and gave it a firm shake.

"Oo! Me next!" The male twin said, his voice sounding oddly familiar as he shot to his feet. "I," he said dramatically, a hand coming to his chest as he lifted his chin in the air, "am known as Tuffnut, the most valuable member of our team. I also go by another name and that is, Belch."

"Ah..."

"Hey no fair!" The female twin hissed as she kicked his leg so hard under the table that Tadashi could hear the solid thud even over all of the music. "I wanted to go next!" She snapped before she turned to Tadashi.

It was as if in those two seconds her attitude had done a complete one eighty as her look turned sultry while she leered at the dark haired male.

"Hey, how's it going? Names Ruffnut, I'm also know as Barf."

"Ruff." Hiccup muttered, his tone warning while the girl rolled her eyes and sat back.

"Okay."

"Well than," The bigger blond male said as a happy little smile came over his face while he turned to Tadashi, "I guess it's my turn. My names Fishlegs," Tadashi was going to have to ask Hiccup later if he had a thing for collecting people with weird names or if they were just nicknames that stuck, "I'm also known as Lug." He added, seeming to shine in pride over the fact. "Hiccup tells me that you make medical software." He continued, his voice a slightly higher pitch in his excitement. "Do you want to talk about it sometime? I'm thinking of taking a deeper look into the medical field after I'm done with linguistics."

"Uh, ya sure." Tadashi just managed to get out as Hiccup tightened his hold around his hand.

He had no idea that Hiccup spoke about him to his group. He'd have thought that until Hiccup had asked them to meet his group would have never heard of him.

"Saving the best for last I see." The darker haired male said, a smug look across his lips as he puffed out his chest a little. "Names Snotlout." He said, rolling his shoulders back for a moment before his eyes turned to the girl sitting next to him. "I'm also known as Fang, most feared member of our group and popular among the ladies."

Astrid just gave a shutter, inching further away from Snotlout and 'accidentally' knocking her drink over in the process, spilling it all over him.

"Gah!"

"So," Astrid said, not at all bothered by the small amount of mumbled cursing coming from the one beside her, "what's your name?"

"Tadashi." He said with a small smile of his own. "Although I use to be known as Skrill."

The moment the name slipped passed his lips the whole table seemed to fall into silence. All eyes were now turned to him and some mouths were even hanging open in shock. Astrid was the first one to recover as she turned her attention to Hiccup who was keeping his face carefully blank.

"This is Skrill?" Her tone wasn't rude, just questioning, but when Hiccup nodded his head her lips curled into another smirk. "Interesting."

"Can I just say what an honor it is to be in your presence." Tuffnut said, grinning widely as he lunged across the table and grasped one of Tadashi's hands in both of his. "Your stories are legendary my friend."

"Thanks." Tadashi chuckled, the sound a little forced as he pulled his hand back before the other could start to kiss it. "The honors all mine."

"Hn, I thought from all of the stories you'd be... bigger." Snotlout said while Fishlegs looked about ready to burst.

"Are you kidding! The Skrill! The one who was the original starter of our group!? The one who first got Hiccup interested in engineering and mechanics! The inspiration for the dragon models! You're him! That's just..! It's so...! I can't even!"

He could feel his face burning hot as he took a glance at Hiccup. The auburn's cheeks were also sharing his flaming red state and he seemed to be trying to get Fishlegs to calm down or shut up or both. Tadashi couldn't help but find the whole thing somewhat cute and majorly flattering to know that Hiccup had told his group about Skrill. Without giving it a second thought he quickly pressed a kiss to the boy's cheek.

The whole table, himself included, burst out in laughter when Hiccup's face went tomato red all the way down to his collarbone and his mouth snapped shut, entering him into silence.

As the night wore on Tadashi eventually ended up with his arm around Hiccup's shoulder and Hiccup leaning into his side. The whole table had gone through two or three beers each and because Astrid was apparently the owner of the place they didn't have to pay for any of them. He enjoyed talking with each and every member about this or that or saying nothing at all and just listening as they went over future plans or just laughed about something that had happened in the past.

Looking around the table at all the smiling faces and just watching them interact with each other Tadashi felt a small pain in his chest at the thought that his is how he had wanted his night to go when he was introducing Hiccup to his friends all those nights ago.

Letting out a small sigh he drew Hiccup's attention away from the conversation he was having with Astrid and towards him. The boy didn't say a word, but his face said it all as Tadashi gave a small nod of his head. He was fine, better than fine actually and he wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere but here at this current moment.

Hiccup smiled back up at him but when he glimpsed something over Tadashi's shoulder a small frown came to his face as his brows furrowed.

Shrugging his arm off Hiccup jerked his head in the way of the front of the VIP room. "Think someone wants to talk to you."

Looking over his shoulder himself Tadashi found his gaze widening in shock at the sight of his little brother currently talking with the guards of the room.

Without saying a word Tadashi got up and made his way swiftly over to his little brother. While it didn't look like Hiro was really bothering the guard at all Tadashi knew that some of them had short tempers and that his brother liked to push buttons. Something that he really wanted to know however was how Hiro had managed to get this far in here anyways. He was obviously a minor and he couldn't see how anyone could have slipped in. His shock only grew however when the guard eventually nodded and allowed the boy to pass.

Coming to a stop where he was Tadashi watched as Hiro made his way into the room. The boy looked this way and that for a moment until his eyes landed on the mirrored honey brown orbs of his brother's. Slowly, Hiro came to a stop as well.

Neither of the brother's said a word. They just stood there looking at each other, really looking at each other. Tadashi inwardly cursed himself when he noticed just how thin his brother seemed, and how pale he had gotten since Tadashi had left. While Hiro seemed to be evaluating him as well Tadashi couldn't help but wonder just what his brother was thinking. It had seemed to be so long since they'd last spoken to each other. To long since they had last said hello, but what was Hiro doing here?

"Hi."

Oddly enough Hiro was the first one to say anything, and his words didn't have any of the bite in them that Tadashi had become accustom to over the last few months. They almost seemed tired, like it was a struggle for him to say even that one word.

"I uh, I was looking for Hiccup."

Oh? Well Tadashi couldn't think of a good reason that Hiro would want to do that. Not when he made his hate for the other so apparent last time they had seen each other.

"And what do you want to see him for?" Tadashi asked, narrowing his gaze slightly while he continued to closely watch his brother's emotion flicker in his gaze.

He could never hate Hiro, even if he was angry at him. He loved his brother and he would protect him from anything and everything. That being said he loved Hiccup too, and he would protect him from anything, even if it was his own family.

"I just, I wanted to say sorry." The boy's words were so quiet that Tadashi almost couldn't hear them over the pounding music that drifted into the room from the area just outside.

He did hear them however, and he couldn't stop his gaze from widening a fraction at what they were.

Hiro wanted to say he was sorry? He wanted to apologize for what he had done that night? He wanted to apologize to Hiccup? Just what had happened in the three weeks that he was gone to change the boy's mind? To change him so much that he would willingly walk into the territory of the beast just to make amends? Tadashi didn't voice any of his questions, he just stared at his little brother while the boy's shoulders curled into himself and his chin dropped to his chest.

"Please Tadashi. I just want to make this right." He said, his words genuine as his large brown eyes drew his brother in. "I know it can't go back to how it was before but I want to be able to see you again, to talk to you again. If Hiccup is going to be apart of your life from now on than..." Hiro slowly came to a stop, swallowing down his words before he forced himself to continue. "I should give the guy a chance."

Tadashi would be lying if he told anyone that he wasn't impressed, or that he was a little bit proud.

Hiro placed his hands in his pockets, nodding his head in the direction of the table Tadashi had walked from. "I figured that the best way to show him how serious I am was to apologize."

Glancing over his shoulder Tadashi looked back at his group. They were all still talking, carrying on like Tadashi hadn't just walked away to talk to someone, but he knew better. He could tell by the way that they were seated, from the look in their eyes that they were watching the exchange very carefully and that they would be ready to jump in at any moment if they felt like Hiro could be a threat. He knew that regardless of the boy's age that was how they saw him. After all Hiccup had been around Hiro's age, maybe a little younger now that he thought about it, when he had been bringing people three times his age to their knees. If there was on thing that people seemed to underestimate it would be the ruthlessness of their young.

Turning his eyes back to his little brother he tilted his head slightly to the side.

"I'm guessing that you would prefer to do this in privet than." It wasn't a question when he already knew the answer, but Hiro nodded anyways. "They won't let you go outside with him, but there's an empty table over on the other side of the room, you guys will have the privacy that you need."

"Thanks." Hiro mumbled, a fresh look of hurt coming over his face at the lack of trust his own brother had in him not to do something stupid.

For a moment Tadashi just stood there, staring down at the boy who had turned his gaze towards the ground. Without hesitating another second he quickly took a few steps forward, the space between them quickly vanishing as he enclosed his brother in his arms in a tight hug. Hiro let out a little 'umph' of surprise while the air was squeezed from his lungs, but hugged his brother back just as tightly when he realized what was happening.

With a large grin on his face Tadashi pulled back, holding his brother by the shoulders.

"Thank you Hiro."

He didn't wait for the boy to respond, taking the sudden light in his eyes and bright smile on his face as answer enough. Ruffling the boy's hair Tadashi turned away as he went to go get Hiccup. He could only hope that this meeting between the would end better than the dinner.


	21. Chapter 21

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 21

Hiccup found himself more curious at Hiro's presence rather than being angered by it. He knew that Hiro was the reason that his dreams had become so bad and why that stupid nightmare seemed to haunt him almost every night now, but he'd never really thought he'd see the boy again so soon. Walking up to the boy he could feel the eyes of his group burning his back and he hoped for Hiro's sake that the boy wasn't hear to stir up more trouble. While he was willing to walk away he wasn't sure how some of his riders would react.

"Hello Hiro."

The boy's lips were pinched together in a thin line, his big eyes looking uncertain while his brows scrunched up, completing his look of pathetic youth. Hiccup still made sure to keep a careful eye on him anyways, regardless of how vulnerable the kid was making himself appear. Looking like a lost child was just the kind of trick he use to pull off when he was younger, and he wouldn't put it pass anyone to use the same thing. After all, who's heart wouldn't go out to such a puppy dog sight?

"Hi." Hiro mumbled, his hands coming up to run through his wild mop of hair while his eyes darted over to the side. "Do you mind if we go over there to talk?"

Green orbs lazily lifted up to the table that Hiro was pointing to. Tadashi had told him before he sent him over that Hiro would have liked to talk somewhere more privet, and he couldn't blame the boy for that. Without a word Hiccup started in the direction that the boy had in mind and Hiro trailed after him with quick steps in order to keep up with Hiccup's longer strides. Sliding into the smooth leather seats Hiccup couldn't help the frown that came to his lips at the usual cold bite he could feel through the thick materiel of his jeans. He'd been happy to be where he was. Where it was already warmed up and where he had been comfortably snuggled with Tadashi. But if Hiro wanted to talk than he guessed for Tadashi's sake he could swallow down his discomfort and hear the boy out.

Setting his crossed arms over the polished tale top Hiccup raised a brow as he watch Hiro slid in the booth seat across from him.

"So, I was told you wanted to talk." He started, his eyes taking in how small the boy seemed to be when surrounded my so much space. He really should learn how to fill up the space more if he ever wanted to look intimidating.

When Hiro nodded his head Hiccup turned his attention away from his thoughts in order to be solely focused on what he had to say.

"Ya, um. I, uh, I wanted to apologize," Hiro started, his eyes finally rising up to meet with Hiccup's, "for how I acted at dinner."

Propping his chin in his hand Hiccup allowed a flat look of disbelief come to his face. "Really?"

"Look I know you probably don't believe me." Hiro said quickly, his eyes darting over to the other side of the room where Hiccup's group was waiting. "But it's the truth. I just, the more I think about it the more I realize how wrong it was of me to do what I did. I know nothing about you or what you've gone through, and I'm sorry for dragging your parents into it. I know I shouldn't have. That was low."

"Yup." Hiccup deadpanned.

Hiro flinched slightly at his blunt response, but didn't snap back a reply. Well, at least he wasn't going to take the bait Hiccup had been testing.

"Listen kiddo," the auburn haired male sighed as he pushed himself into the back of the seat, "I really do appreciate this, trust me I know how hard it is to try and make up to someone you hate, but you don't have to do this in order to get Tadashi back."

When Hiro's mouth fell open and his eyes went wide Hiccup simply chuckled at him.

"Regardless of what happened that night and how things turned out your brother doesn't hate you. He just needed some time away. He knew that it was going to be a lot for you guys to adjust to and so he just came to live with me for a bit." He explained. "I know you're trying to get him back and to get things how they were but..."

"That's not what I'm doing." Hiro shot in quickly, bolting up straight in his seat as he placed his hands on the table top, fingers splayed wide. "I admit that I miss my brother and I want him to come home, but I'm not trying to, I don't..." When words seemed to fail him the smaller Asian male scowled, his eyes dropping to the side for a moment as he regathered his thoughts. "I know that this is the kind of life that Tadashi's chosen for now, and I also know that you're apart of it. If this is a part of his life that my brother wanted to share with us than I feel like it's only right that I accept him for everything, not just what I want him to be."

Humming to himself, Hiccup drummed his fingers over the glossed wood. It seemed that Hiro was quiet serious about this, and that he understood what this was going to lead to and just what his brother had been hoping for. Still, he wasn't sure how he himself felt about having Hiro in his world. It was bad enough that he had dragged Tadashi back into it. Did he really want to drag Hiro along for the ride as well? Than again maybe he could keep Hiro at a distance like he had with Tadashi? He could allow the boy at his house and to Astrid's club, maybe hang out with them at their school and help them with projects... Actually that would make things a lot easier for his job...

Allowing a smile to come to his face Hiccup relaxed. Hiro, noticing the lack of tension in the man across from him also gave a tiny, tight lipped grin.

"I'm not happy about what you said." Hiccup sighed, running his hand through his hair to get his bangs out of his face. "But I can understand the cut throat plan you were going for. I accept your apology."

Hiro's smile became wide as his eyes lit up while he bounced on his seat.

"Really!?"

Unable to help himself, Hiccup chuckled at the boy's adorable puppy dog excitement. He was actually rather cute when he wasn't being an absolute brat.

"Yes, but there is one thing that I'd like to know," Hiccup continued, tilting his head to the side slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Just how did you get in here? Astrid's pretty strict about fake and letting in underage clients."

"Oh, um, well I might have told them that I some urgent news to tell you."

"And they fell for that?" Hiccup asked, wondering just how many people could get in here if that was all the guards needed to hear.

"Well that and that I was the brother of Tadashi and that he needed to know as well. They didn't ask much so..."

"I'll have to talk to them about that." Hiccup sighed with a shake of his head. "Honestly what were they thinking?"

"What?" Hiro snickered as he crossed his arms and rested them on the table. "You honestly think someone my size could come in here and beat your entire gang?"

When Hiccup's deadpanned gaze fell on the boy, the smile across Hiro's face fell.

"There are a lot of kids on these streets that would happily cut your throat for some food and a safe place to sleep." Hiro sunk in his seat a little at Hiccup's words. "Don't underestimate the plans of the young and desperate, that's when they're most dangerous."

Their table fell into silence. Across the room Hiccup could hear his group laughing and his eyes drifted over to them briefly just to see what they were doing. A small smile pulled at the corners of his lips at seeing that Tuff was in the middle of one of his stories and Ruff was helping to provide some of the background music with her empty bottle. He lifted two fingers in their direction to show that he was fine. Although it looked like none of them were watching he could see them relax slightly and Tadashi even lifted two fingers back, never once taking his eyes away from the twins.

"Is that," his attention was drawn back to the boy that was still sitting in front of him when Hiro spoke, "is that what happened to you?"

Dropping his chin against his hand Hiccup just stared at the boy sitting slouched over in his seat. He could understand that Hiro was curious about his upbringing. Probably wondering how he got into this life and how he had met his brother. Still, Hiccup wasn't sure that he wanted to tell the kid. He'd never really talked to anyone about his past much, he couldn't see why he would bother telling someone who was pretty much a complete stranger.

"When, um, when I was three," Hiro started, seeing that Hiccup wasn't going to talk anytime soon, "my parents died. They were, they were in a car accident." The boy forced out, his gaze drifting over to his brother before snapping back to the green eyed male before him. "I never really got to know them or anything, but Tadashi's told me a lot of stories about them and he always seemed so happy to talk about them when I was growing up that I never noticed that..."

Hiccup didn't force the boy to continue when he trialed off. He simply gave the child a moment as he waited.

Hiro shook himself out before he continued. "I guess I just mean that if he didn't have our Aunt than he probably would still have stuck with you all those years ago after you guys were separated."

"Your point?" Hiccup asked, his voice slightly muffled by his hand.

The dark haired male frowned, his gaze dropping to the table top as he uncrossed one of his arms to draw random patterns across the wood.

"My point is," he started, his finger not stopping as his eyes darted back up to Hiccup's, "Tadashi got out because he had someone, but you stayed in it because you're on your own didn't you? You don't have parents or relatives that could have taken you in and straightened you out do you?"

"There are a lot of people that are alone that fight for a better life." Hiccup said slowly as he sat back up. "I chose this because it was easier."

"Was it easier because you didn't know anything else?"

Hiccup narrowed his gaze at the curious teen before him. He was almost starting to miss the lippy brat that wouldn't let him get in two words.

"My parents," Hiccup started, his eyes quickly drifting around the room to make sure that no one was to close to hear them, "were good people." He finished, his empty gaze dropping to the young Asian male. "As you had mentioned if they could see me now they would be disappointed. If they weren't already dead they might even disown me."

Although his words were accompanied by a chuckle, there was no humor in his voice. Blinking rapidly for a moment Hiccup cleared his throat and shook himself out. It wouldn't be good if he were to break down to much to this kid in a crowed bar of all places.

"They died when I was young and... one thing after the other happened and I ended up here."

"Do you think you could have ended up anywhere else if you'd..."

"What are you doing kid?" Hiccup interrupted, his words coming out with a tired sigh as his gaze dropped to half mass.

Hiro on the other hand seemed to be caught off guard by his words and his mouth stayed open mid rant while his mind raced to come up with something else. When Hiccup arched a brow at him to further inquire as to what he was trying to get at Hiro chewed on the corner of his lip and his shoulders dropped.

"I don't know. I guess I just..." His shoulders raised for a moment in a vague shrug before they fell once more. "I guess I just want to know more about you." He answered, his eyes holding nothing but truth in them. "I want to understand what draws my brother to you, why you guys are so close and how he can act the way he does around you."

Well that was fair enough. Hiccup could understand that. This whole thing must have been pretty new to the boy and Hiro didn't seem like the kind of kid that left things alone without being able to understand all of it. He'd seen Hiro's work, studied it, the boy left nothing out and his research was always detailed and thorough. Just one of the many traits he shared with his brother.

Cupping his chin in his hand Hiccup smiled at he boy in front of him.

"You're adorable." He snickered, his words making the younger male sit back in his seat and a small amount of red to splash over his face.

"What?"

"Tadashi's lucky to have a little brother. I always wanted one." Hiccup continued his mind zoning out for a moment as he thought back on all of those times that he had begged his parents for a little brother. Turning back to Hiro he tilted his head towards his group. "And you're lucky to have a brother like Tadashi."

He watched as honey colored eyes turned towards the table where Hiccup's riders and his brother were sitting.

"I know." Hiro muttered, the words almost to quiet to be heard over the pounding music falling in from the next room. "It's just going to take some getting use to. I feel almost like he's a whole different person and I don't know where I stand with him anymore."

Frowning at the lost look that came over the child's face Hiccup drummed the fingers of his free hand over the table top.

"He's still a dork." He supplied, catching Hiro's attention enough for the boy to glance at him from the corner of his eye. "He still likes to go on about nerdy things, his favorite drink is still pineapple juice with an apple slice. He still talks about his friends and family nonstop. He still blocks out everything else when he gets really into a good book. He's still the same Hiro, now there's just more that you need to add to your list."

"Like what?"

Oh? Where did he start?

"Well," Hiccup said, leaning back in his seat, "he's an amazing fighter. He's knocked me on my ass a few times and let me tell you that's something that rarely happens. He's actually a light weight but he likes to think he can drink. He's actually a really good dancer and everyone loves to watch him when he's on the dance floor. When he's studying really hard he likes to be pulled away every once and awhile to play around for a bit even though he acts like he doesn't want to. He get super cranky if you ignore him to long or if you hog all of the blankets first thing in the morning. Oh! And he thinks it's funny to steal food from you if you have it hanging out of your mouth. I've lost quiet a few crackers and licorices thanks to that habit. Ah, and he likes to be looked after sometimes. Not all the time and not babied, but he appreciates it when someone asks him how he's doing or brings him hot chocolate when he's not feeling well or takes care of him when he's sick or knows that he doesn't have all the answers and that sometimes he needs you to supply them. You know, just normal..." Hiccup's words trailed off as his attention turned from the older Hamada brother, to the younger one.

Hiro was staring at him with a blank look behind his eyes, his lips turned into a tight frown as he had both of his hands placed out in front of him. Thinking back to what he had said Hiccup didn't think anything he had mentioned would have offended the other so he had no idea where this sudden mood seemed to come from.

Raising a brow Hiccup tried not to squirm under the suddenly intense gaze. "Everything okay bud?"

"Oh my god." Hiro said, his words flat as he just continued to stare at the man before him. "You and my brother are screwing each other."

Although Hiccup wasn't drinking anything he still somehow managed to choke when he swallowed the wrong way. His eyes went wide while his face turned beat red as his body shook with a few rough coughs. Pounding his fist against his chest he tried his best to redeem himself while the dark haired male across from him started to shake his head back and forth so quickly Hiccup was surprised his head didn't go flying.

"Ew! That's just...! God! I never wanted to know...! Ew, ew, ew, ew..."

"What's wrong with us dating?" Hiccup muttered, feeling slightly offended at the boy's disgust with their relationship. He wondered how Tadashi was getting to take Hiro's apparent rejection.

"Nothing I just... Well other than the fact that I think he could do better, no offense," Hiro put in, seemingly as an after thought as Hiccup rolled his eyes, "I just, ugh, I don't want to think about my brother having sex with anyone it's just... to weird."

"Well that's immature." Hiccup scoffed, earning himself a glare from the tiny male.

"I'm only fourteen."

"Ya? Well than you're gonna be thinking about it a lot more I hate to tell ya."

"Ya but not about my brother." Hiro groaned, dropping his head in his hands. "The things I wish I could erase from my brain."

"You brought it up." Hiccup reminded him, rolling his eyes again. Glancing over at his group he gave a small smile to the quick glance that Tadashi threw them both. He couldn't wait to see Tadashi's face when he found out that his brother now knew.

"Well maybe if you hadn't made it so obvious." Hiro sneered back, his hands dropping to the table top with a solid thud. "I mean how much more doey eyed could you get?"

"I was not..." Hiccup's words died on the tip of his tongue at the skeptical look he received from the young teen. "Alright than, maybe just a little." When Hiro's brow arched higher he let out a long sigh and waved his hand about in the air. "Okay, maybe a lot."

Hiccup shot a sneer at the boy's smug look and received a stuck out tongue in return. Both of them rolled their eyes at each other before turning their attention to the topic of their discussion across the room.

"I guess," Hiccup muttered, moving to stand as Hiro looked over at him, "since you're already in here, you might as well join us. We shouldn't be to much longer and I'm sure Tadashi wouldn't want you to leave so soon."

Hiro took a moment but he slowly got up and shifted on his feet before moving next to the auburn haired male.

"Um, your group isn't going to kill me or anything, are they?" At the frightened look across his face Hiccup couldn't help but smirk as he through an arm over the boy's shoulders.

"As long as I tell them not to."


	22. Chapter 22

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 22

'The streets were really dark at night. As much as it should have been an obvious observation it was still somewhat shocking. There were streetlights every few feet, and they should have been lighting up the sidewalks like a group of tiny suns. The glow that fell from them was to weak though, only casting enough light to make small halos around their own stems, and very few of them really worked. Most of them blinked, winking to the darkness and the people that still milled the streets. Others were completely smashed, and hadn't been replaced in years.

As awful as trying to find his way around in the dark of the night in a part of town that he had never been to in an unfamiliar city, Tadashi couldn't have been more thankful for the thick blankets of shadow that covered him. He had his hands pressed to his mouth, muffling his heavy breathing while he pulled his legs closer and tighter to his chest. At the sound of every footfall he couldn't stop himself from tensing. His whole body hurt all over from the beating they'd put him through before he managed to sneak away, but he'd been lucky that they hadn't broken anything or done any irreversible damage. He wasn't out of the woods yet though, and he knew he wouldn't be until he could get back to his Aunt's house.

He knew from the moment that he'd been dropped off here with his little brother in hand by Child Services, this place was going to be his living hell, but he'd never thought that it would be this bad. He hadn't even really meant to get lippy with the man. He'd just been trashing talk like everyone else did in the ring. Maybe he did go a little to far though, maybe he did push a little to much. Either way he would have to think about it later. The only thing that mattered right now was to get out of here and get back to the cafe.

Moving slowly as to draw as little attention to himself as he could, Tadashi peeked out of his hiding place squeezed between the dumpster and the outer part of the wall. Looking down the street towards one of the blinking street lights he couldn't see anyone there. The lights flickered out for a moment and he let out a breath, hoping he was in the clear and that this would be over very soon. He could crawl out of his hiding place and just sprint back home. Or at least to some main street and than find his way back from there.

When the light flickered back on a small gasp slipped passed his lips at the sight of a man who seemed to have come out of nowhere, now standing underneath the lamp and getting bathed in the dull glow from above. While the small boy was sure that any other time the man would have appeared to be an angel sent from heaven, he knew that this man was a demon out of the depths of hell.

A startled yelp was ripped from him when a large hand came down and tightly clamped around the back of his shirt. He felt panic rise up in him when he was hoisted out of his hiding place and into the dim glow. The shadows fell away from him, running back to there corner of darkness as he was lifted right off his feet. He gagged when the collar of his t-shirt dug into his throat and winced as he heard part of the back of it tare.

"Found 'em."

The man's thick voice sent chills down his spine, leaving goosebumps across his arms as dark eyes took him in. Tadashi couldn't see any form of sympathy in them. No remorse or mercy. It was cold and empty and it frightened him.

"What a slippery little snake." The man from the street light grinned as he walked up to them "I must say though I'm impressed boy, but that doesn't change what's going to happen to you."

Tadashi kept his mouth shut. It had already gotten him in enough trouble for one night. Just because he didn't say anything however didn't mean that the man didn't pick up his message loud and clear about just what Tadashi thought about this whole thing. He knew that this wasn't going to end well. He knew that once they had caught him this was going to be over and his game would be up. That didn't mean that he was going to go down without a fight, and he'd be damned if he was going to let this guy walk away unscratched.

Using the hold that the other guy had on him to his advantage Tadashi pressed his weight against him as he quickly brought both of his knees up tightly against his chest. In just seconds they shot out, landing straight against the monster of a man's stomach with enough of an impact to force him back a few steps.

A smile had barely made it's way to his face before there was a hand on the back of his head and the side of his face was smashed into the sharp bricks of the alley wall. He tried his best to bite back on a yelp of pain, but he had no time to stop the noise before it escaped. Blood was already seeping down from his forehead and cheek, some of it slipping into his mouth and making his stomach turn at the heavy density of it.

The back of his eyes tingled, a weird feeling starting up in his gut that forced him to gaze out and see if there was someone watching him. With only one eye to look out of and the over abundance of darkness that surrounded them all he couldn't make out much, but he could feel how close the other was. He could feel the hot breath hitting his face and invading his senses. For a moment he found it odd that the smell that washed over him wasn't putrid, but more of a minty kind. Like this guy had just brushed his teeth or something. It smelled oddly like Tadashi's toothpaste and he knew that if he ever made it back he was going to throw it away.

"Maybe you're not as smart as I thought you were." The demon hissed, a hand raising to grab Tadashi chin and force his head to be tilted more towards him. The boy bit down on his tongue to keep his voice in check as the movement caused the cuts on his face to tare even more.

"If you're going to get rid of me anyways what does it matter." The boy snapped, pushing back against the one who was holding him down only to barely move an inch. There was only so much his little body could do.

At his question the man through his head back in laughter.

As abrupt as his humor was it had a sharp ending. His hold on the boy's face tightened, his nails digging in so deep that they drew blood to the surface.

"It doesn't."

The hiss in his voice shook Tadashi to his core. This guy was going to kill him. He truly, and without a doubt was going to kill him. No one was even going to know where to find his body, his Aunt would never know what happened to him. His little brother...

"Please." The plea passed his lips in a whisper, hitting against the man's back just hard enough to get him to stop walking away. "Please, I have a little brother."

He'd never really thought about how he was going to die. He was to young to give it much of a thought. In his mind he just assumed that he was going to live forever, that his parents were going to live forever and that his little brother would one day grow up and they would all be a big happy, immortal family. The night that the police had come to the door. The night that they had sat him down and told him that his parents were dead, that they had dragged him out of the house to bring them somewhere new, Tadashi knew that his illusion was forever shattered.

But he'd been so busy grieving over his parents deaths he never once stopped to think of his own. He didn't want it to be this way. He didn't want to be begging to some stranger in the middle of the streets with his Aunt worried sick about him at home and Hiro growing up without an older brother.

"I'm sorry." He whimpered, tears stinging his eyes as he tried to hold them back. "Please don't kill me."

The lamplight flickered, casting the side of the man's face in light for a split moment before it was dark again. For the life of him Tadashi wished it would have stayed dark.

"Make him scream."

The words were like a cold bucket of water being thrown in his face. Shock slapped any reaction out of him and he just stood there, frozen against the wall. The leader turned his back again, making his way to a car that Tadashi hadn't noticed earlier while the man at Tadashi's back let out a deep chuckle.

Without saying a word he was pulled off the wall and deeper into the darkness.'

"Whoa, wait stop."

Tadashi halted in his tale, everyone else at the table groaning at the interruption while his gaze darted over to his brother.

"That guy was going to have you killed? You must have been like, ten." Hiro said, his hands waving around for a moment before he dropped them against the table. "Did you ever even find out who it was?"

"It was an old crime lord." Hiccup supplied before Tadashi could. He swished around the small amount of liquid in his drink before he took a sip. "Needless to say when we got going he was one of the first ones we went after."

"What was his name?" Hiro asked, leaning forward some, his eyes wide in interest and his lips pinched in the concern of what his brother had been through.

At this Tadashi chuckled, shaking his head and reaching over to ruffle his baby brother's hair.

"We're not going to tell you that." He said, his gaze shifting over to Hiccup to make sure that his boyfriend could see how serious he was and not to go telling his little brother behind his back. "Our we?"

Hiccup smirked back up at him over the rim of his drink but didn't say anything. Hiro on the other hand slumped back in his seat, earning himself a ruffle from the blond at his side.

"It's okay kid. The guy's probably paid for everything ten fold already." Astrid said, her suggestion making Hiccup raise his can in agreement.

"Here, here."

Without looking Tadashi reached out and lowered his boyfriend's arm. He was going to have to start watching how much Hiccup was drinking. While he had no problem with the brunet getting drunk normally he really didn't want to babysit two people tonight.

"Would you guys like to hear the rest of the story?"

"Yes!" Snotlout snapped, throwing his arms up in the air with a scowl over his face. "I've been waiting to hear this story for years!"

"Same here. Although it's not as dramatic as I thought it would be." Tuffnut said as he tapped a finger against his chin, his sister nodding in agreement at his side.

"Ya, I mean where's all the epic gun fights and car chases?" She asked, her question almost making Tadashi choke on his drink.

Placing his drink down Tadashi waved his free hand at the horrified look over his little brother's face while his shoulders shook in a rough coughing fit.

"That never happened Hiro!" He managed to wheeze out as Fishlegs gave a somewhat snooty laugh.

"'Never happened'? Oh please, we've all heard the story about how a two month operation was blown when you tackled someone who had their sights on Hiccup and than when he had to throw you both out a window and into a harbor when someone turned their gun to you." The blond said, not seeming to care about the effects his words were having on Tadashi's little brother while the older Hamada slapped a hand to his forehead and gave a small groan. "And than there's the time that you two had to hijack a police cruiser to..."

"Thank you Fishlegs." Hiccup interrupted, raising his brows skeptically when the blond turned to him.

Looking between the three Fishlegs sank back in his seat, his hands coming to fold on his lap. "And I've said to much."

"Wait a second. You've been shot at before!?" Hiro exclaimed, his mouth hanging open and his arms laying flat against the table. "And you stole a police car? What else is there that I haven't heard about yet?"

"Okay I think it's time for us to go." Tadashi muttered, sliding out of his seat.

"Go? We can't go. There's a lot we have to talk about Tadashi." Hiro said, trying to move passed Hiccup so he could get to his brother's side.

Tadashi didn't know if he should thank the boy or be annoyed at the way that Hiccup was prosperously trapping Hiro in his spot by moving back and forth. Hiro gave an aggravated grunt of annoyance before he gave up and just slid under the table instead.

"You guys are going to go already?" Astrid asked, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear as Hiccup finally slid out of his seat.

"Ya. It might be a weekend day tomorrow but I have a lot of homework that I need to be up early for." Tadashi sighed.

"I can help." Hiccup said, nearly tripping over his own feet as he he stumbled out of the booth. Cursing under his breath the auburn haired male took a moment to straighten himself out before turning to his group while Hiro popped up from underneath the table.

"But we didn't get to hear the end of the story!" Fishlegs cried, his large hands coming up to press on either side of his face.

"We could always come up with our own ending." Tuffnut grinned. "One that would have all the elements of a good story in it. Action, suspense, drama, romance."

"We could build our very own production!" Ruff joined in, one hand to her chest and the other sticking out before her. Suddenly she sat up and than pretty much dived across the table top, grinning in Hiro's face. "Hey kid, how'd you like to play the younger version of your older brother. You look about right."

"Ah..."

"Leave him alone Ruff." Hiccup sighed, grabbing a hold of the boy's hood and dragging him closer to Tadashi.

"You're not seriously leaving are you?" Snotlout asked, a frown on his lips as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Not with that ending right?"

"Well you know I lived Snotlout." Tadashi chuckled, pulling his brother from Hiccup's grip in order to bring him closer to himself.

"Or maybe you're a robot." Snotlout said, the rest of the table falling silent as they all turned to stare at him.

"Plot twist!" Tuff suddenly exclaimed, jumping to his feet and disturbing the contents over the table.

"Tuff!" Astrid snapped, snatching up a bottle that had fallen into her lap.

"And we'll take our leave." Hiccup mumbled, grabbing a hold of both of the brothers arms and leading them away.

"You guys can't get out of it that easily." Hiro grumbled, sticking close to the two as they made their way through the crowed. "I mean how old were you when you got shot at? Dose Aunt Cass know about this? Were you guys ever hurt? Do you have..."

"Hiro." Tadashi sighed, running his free hand down his face. "I promise that we can talk about this at another time, but right now I think we should get you home."

As they stepped outside Tadashi could feel the cold bite of air kiss his skin and sharpening his scenes. Taking a glance over at Hiccup he could tell that it had the same effect as the boy's gaze seemed to sharpen while his eyes darted this way and that, scoping out their surroundings. Hiro on the other hand looked just as lively as he had always been, not appearing to be bother at all by the fact that it was getting close to three in the morning. Instead of paying any attention to their surrounds however all of his attention was focused wholly on his brother.

"You're not coming home tonight?" He asked, his brows turning upwards and a frown over his lips.

Even though he was only asking about tonight, Tadashi knew what he was really getting at. He wanted Tadashi to move back home, he wanted him to come back permanently. If he was going to be completely honest however Tadashi didn't want to move back just yet. Hiccup's place was shitty and small and in one of the worst places ever, but in a weird kind of way, it was nice. He didn't have to act there, he didn't have to be perfect and it was nice to be able to cuddle up to Hiccup without having to worry about his little brother popping in. Especially if they weren't just cuddling. That would just get really awkward.

He wasn't going to stay away forever, he just wanted a little bit more time.

"Not tonight little brother."

Hiro's frown deepened at his response, but he chose to drop it for now, his gaze turning to the dark streets before him as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.

"Alright fine. Just let me know when you are, I'll have to clean up your side of the room."

At that Tadashi snapped his head around to face his little brother in alarm. At seeing the smirk over Hiro's lips he let out a sigh of relief to see that he was just teasing.

"Knucklehead."

"Nerd."

"Hiro."

Hiccup voice interrupted their playful banter, but Tadashi didn't mind as he slipped his hands into his own jeans, waiting to see what the other was going to say.

"It was nice of you to come down here and I'm glad with the way that things turned out, but you shouldn't come around this place anymore okay?"

Tadashi was expecting his brother to argue. He was expecting Hiro to tell Hiccup that he wasn't one to be told what to do and that if he wanted to go somewhere he would. The last thing he thought would happen would be for Hiro to nod his head and drop his gaze to the ground like he was submitting to the others orders. His shock was easy to leave the more he allowed his mind to think it through.

Hiro had just been told about his old life, and while he had only heard bits and pieces it was no doubt enough information for him to know that Hiccup didn't say things flippantly. He seemed to understand that if Hiccup was telling him something it was for his own safety and not just out of some misplaced annoyance of not wanting the boy around.

"Alright." Hiro's words were merely a muttered, but they seemed good enough for the taller male as he gave a nod of his head.

"Thanks."

Tadashi gave a little jump when Hiccup turned his bright green orbs to him a small frown on his face as he stopped walking completely.

"You guys will have to go on without me. There's something I have to do quickly okay?"

"Sure." Tadashi said, although he couldn't stop himself from wondering just what it was that Hiccup had to do tonight. He hadn't mentioned anything earlier.

"See you at home."

The crooked smile that the brunet shot at him was completely disarming. Tadashi only found himself smiling back and nodding dumbly in return. When a pair of lips were pressed quickly against his own he felt like a small shock had gone though his body and re-energized his system. In seconds Hiccup had pulled away and was gone, blending into the busy night life in the blink of an eye. Tadashi just stood there, staring in the place he'd last seen his boyfriend before he remembered that Hiro was still standing right there and that he had seen everything.

Snapping his head around his felt his face go bright red. "Ah, I can explain that."

Hiro simply gave a roll of his eyes in return as he continued walking in the direction of home.

"You two are dating. I know."

Dropping his mouth open and than snapping it shut Tadashi quickly pulled himself out of his surprise and ran after his brother.

"You know?" He gasped, his hands reaching up to play with his cap only to remember that he wasn't wearing one. "How did you...?"

"Hiccup accidentally gave it away." Hiro said, not seeming bothered by this bit of information at all. "He was just fawning all about you and gushing like a highschooler. It would be kind of an insult to my intelligence if I didn't notice."

"Oh, well..."

He had no idea what to say to that. In away he was highly flattered, if not a little smug that he had managed to get that kind of reaction from Hiccup without even being around him at the time. He was so going to tease the other about it later. For now he had this to deal with.

"You're not, upset?" He asked carefully. He had no idea if his brother was homophobic, it wasn't really something they had ever really discussed growing up since they were more interested in robots than people but...

"Nope." Hiro said, popping the 'p' of the word and rolling his shoulders back. "Although I think you can do a lot better." He added, pulling a frown to Tadashi's lips.

"I could never hope to do better than Hiccup." He confirmed, his tone final and leaving no room for argument.

"If you say so."

Coming to a sudden stop Tadashi gave a small glare to his brother. Hiro only managed to get a few more steps in before he realized that he was walking alone and slowed to a stop as well. Turning to face his brother Hiro didn't hesitate to meet his glare head on.

"Hiro," Tadashi took a deep breath, stilling his temper before it could get away from him. "You've met with Hiccup, and you met his friends. They allowed you to be involved in their group. You guys sat down and talked. What is so wrong with Hiccup that you don't like him for it? You haven't even given him a chance yet."

At this Hiro sighed, dropping his glare to the ground and kicking at the rubble under his feet with a scowl. After he had a moment to collect his thoughts he turned back to his brother.

"I'm just starting to learn about this guy now Tadashi, and so far everything I've heard about him up to tonight hasn't been very good, so forgive me if I'm skeptical about how good he would be for you. Just... just give me some more time I guess. I'm not going to snap at him anymore, but until I have a solid reason for why he's so good for you and how you two could be perfect for one another just give me some time to do my own research on the subject."

Opening his mouth to protest Tadashi thought better of it. Breathing deeply through his nose he gave a small nod of his head, walking up to his brother and throwing an arm around his shoulders.

"Whatever you need little brother."


	23. Chapter 23

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 23

Hiccup jolted up as something sharp and sudden yanked him out of his sleep. Still groggy he went to throw his feet over the side of his bed, only to realize that his legs were tangled up in the sheets and instead made him turn over violently. With a short trip his face had a meeting with the floor, the dull pain in his cheek making him groan as he pushed himself to his hands and knees.

Sitting back on his heels he quickly rubbed his hands over his cheeks as his hazy green gaze tried to find the source of what had awoken him. Not seeing anything however he turned his attention to his two unit stove and raised a brow at the time. It was only twelve thirty.

When a sharp set of knocks echoed around the room, Hiccup couldn't stop himself from jumping. Glancing at the door he pushed himself to his feet. Nobody ever knocked on his door. Tadashi and his riders knew to just come on in, they all had keys after all. The only people who would knock would be...

Getting back down on his knees Hiccup slipped his hand under his mattress. He felt around it carefully until his fingers came in contact with a tough leather handle. Grasping the well worn material he pulled it back out, the nine inch blade catching the dull light cast from his computer as he slowly made his way over to his door.

Pressing himself against the wall next to the door he took in a deep breath to settle himself and wake his mind up a bit more. With his free hand reaching for the handle he angled himself properly and threw the door open. Quicker than the other person could react Hiccup was on them, slamming them into the railing of the fire escape so hard that it rattled and pressing a knife to their throat. His face was twisted in rage until he realized that the stranger was tiny, with big brown eyes and a mop of fluffy black hair.

"Hiro?"

It had been a few days since he'd last seen the boy, and the last place that he expected him to be was standing outside his home.

Realizing that this was a harmless child he was holding a knife on Hiccup quickly let the boy go and backed off. A small shred of guilt washed over him as the boy let out a shuttering breath and carefully rubbed at his throat. Honestly though what was he thinking? Not announcing himself at all at someones house? Someone like Hiccup who didn't deal with the nicest of people at the best of times and complete monsters at the worst of times.

"What are you doing here?"

He didn't mean for his voice to come out with as much of a bite as it did, but his tone didn't seem to bother the kid much while he dropped his hands to his sides and frowned up at the other.

"Nice greeting." Hiro huffed, his thin shoulders rolling up to his ears as he placed his hands in his pockets.

Letting out a heavy sigh Hiccup could only roll his eyes. "Come on it." He muttered, pushing his door open with his shoulder and flicking the lights on as he went. "Want anything to drink?" Hiccup asked over his shoulder, his body relaxing slightly when he heard the door click shut.

"Um, is it safe?"

Casting a look over his shoulder the auburn haired male raised a brow at the boy's skepticism. Hiro just raised his hands up as he gave the other a small smile.

"Just asking."

Deciding that the boy could die from dehydration for all he care Hiccup grabbed a water bottle out of his fridge. As he went to close the door he decided that being spiteful wasn't going to solve anything and grabbed a can of pop as well. Tossing it over to the kid, he made his way back over to his bed. Tossing his knife to the ground he felt a little bit better at hearing the solid thud it made as its tip bit into the flooring and gave a dull echo around the room, the knife standing tall with its hilt in the air just in case he needed to make a quick grab for it.

With a soft groan he dropped himself to his bed and twisted the cap on his drink. Taking a swing from his bottle he didn't bother asking Hiro what he was doing here again. He simply sat there, watching as the boy looked around his crappy little home with confusion.

"I thought that your home would be... different." Hiro mumbled, his gaze finally dropping on the owner of the apartment when it was done scanning over the few things he had.

"What? You thought I'd live in some big house with state of the age everything?" Hiccup chuckled, his hand coming up to cradle his chin while he gently swayed the bottle in his other hand. "As odd as it may seem there bud, I don't plan on doing this for my whole life. I do need a retirement plan. Some of my money goes into a bank account for when I'm to old to do this anymore."

"And what about the rest?" Hiro asked, and briefly Hiccup couldn't help but wonder if the boy's intelligence just came from the fact that he just liked to ask a lot of questions.

With a shrug of his shoulders Hiccup puffed up his cheeks. "Different things really, some charity organizations, some goes to buying the stuff I need to make...some things... and than there's paying the other riders and this and that. You know, other stuff." He answered vaguely, taking another sip.

"Oh..."

They both trailed off into silence, reminding Hiccup of the night they'd had just a little while ago where they had had their talk and things seemed to have smoothed over. This... this was a little different from that. This was Hiccup's home, and he wasn't sure he was very comfortable with the fact that Hiro was in it. Not only that but he couldn't help wondering just how the younger male managed to find him anyways. He might have sewn another GPS in Tadashi's bag or something now that Hiccup was thinking about it, and he had to admire the boy's relentlessness.

"Does Tadashi know you're here?" Hiccup asked, figuring out the answer to his question as Hiro's fingers clenched around the unopened can in his hands.

"No."

"Alright than. I won't mention it to him."

"Thanks." Hiro said, his voice low as his eyes glanced around the room again.

Hiccup nodded his head over to his desk where the only other available sitting area was. "You can use the chair."

Without a word the boy slowly made his way over, taking his time to look at the mess that was scattered over the surface before he sat down.

"You watch cartoons?" He asked, his eyes trained on the laptop screen that was playing another one of Hiccup's favorite shows.

With his nightmares getting worse and not having Tadashi around all of the time he found that waking up to at least something other than silence would help.

"With all the stuff I see and do it's a good stress relief." He said, his shoulders moving up in a small shrug as he tried to see what episode of Gravity Rises he'd been on.

Hiro just gave a small hum. His gaze not moving away from the screen for a few more seconds. Hiccup had no doubt he wasn't paying any attention to what was on the screen however as much as he was probably running a million questions through his mind.

"I came to ask you something." Hiro said after a moment, finally taring his attention away from the laptop to the man sitting across the room on the bed.

"I figured as much." Hiccup responded, taking another sip of his water before recapping it. "And whatever it is I'm sure you didn't want Tadashi hearing."

At the tight frown over the kid's childish face Hiccup knew his answer. Giving a click of his tongue he couldn't help but be slightly curious himself as he waited for the question that had dragged Hiro all the way out here.

"My brother said that you... that you lost your leg..." The boy's words trailed off, his eyes dropping down to Hiccup's sweatpants covered legs subconsciously.

Without a word Hiccup tugged the bottom of his pants up.

Carefully he watched as Hiro's eyes went wide, his mouth falling open slightly and the can nearly slipping right out of his fingers.

"The guy smashed it to shit." Hiccup chuckled, the sound bitter and hollow. "Than kept me awake as he sawed it off. Worse pain of my life."

"Oh my god."

"Ya..."

Hiccup didn't have much else to say on the matter. He'd already broken down and told Tadashi everything. He didn't need to tell anyone else all about it.

"What about it though?" Hiccup asked, his question breaking the boy out of his daze as he pushed his clothing back down.

Hiro on the other hand placed his drink down on the desk behind him, turning back to face Hiccup with his elbows resting on his knees.

"I just want to know. If that happened to you... How safe is my brother?"

Silence filled the room as Hiccup allowed the question to float around in his mind. Hiro had every right to be worried about what might end up happening to his brother if he was hanging around with the underworld scum, and he was right. If this had happened to Hiccup, a guy who was very capable of taking care of himself, than what could happen to his brother? While Tadashi was no pushover and could, at appropriate times, be just as blood thirsty as Hiccup himself, there were limits to everyone.

Instead of answering right away Hiccup recapped his water bottle, placing it down next to himself. Asking the question over and over in his own mind and trying to come up with any form of an answer. The only problem was that he didn't really have one. At the end of the day the truth was that Hiccup didn't know. He had no idea if he was just placing Tadashi in more danger by being around him, or if it was worse to leave him be, have someone find out and than not be there to do anything. All in all he guessed it didn't really matter about what he could have done to keep them from getting to this point, they were already here and nothing was going to change that. He'd tried pushing Tadashi away for the better already and it hadn't worked well at all.

"I don't know." He knew it wasn't what the boy wanted to hear, but it was the truth. "I know you're brother's good in a fight, I know that I've done everything I can to keep him out of my... kind of work, but at the end of the day Hiro if something does happen, I've done everything I can to keep him safe."

"What about if you left?"

His gaze snapped up to meet the boy's. Green burned into coffee brown with a flame that would have scorched most. When it came to his brother however it seemed that the boy didn't pull any punches. Clicking his tongue Hiccup gave a small shake of his head, breaking their contact as he shifted on his bed.

"At this point Tadashi would follow me." He muttered, carefully taking in the way that the younger male tensed. "I know you don't like it Hiro, but it's true. Most of the time I can't make heads or tails of it either but there's... something. I can't even think of a proper way to describe it, but we can't be separated again, neither of us would stand for it."

"You understand that you're being selfish right?" Hiro questioned with a bite to his words as his hands tightened there hold on the can so much they were shaking. "Tadashi's my brother, if anything were to happen to him..."

"I won't let it." Hiccup snapped back, his words nearly a hiss. "I know that sounds like an empty promise, especially in my kind of life, but you can believe me when I tell you that I would let the whole world burn, and everything in it, if i meant keeping Tadashi safe."

Neither of the two spoke. The only sound of conversation coming from the characters on the computer, their voices barely above a whisper so that no one could really make out what they were actually talking about. For a moment Hiccup closed his eyes, oddly enough begging for the nightmares rather than to sit here and have this talk with his boyfriend's little brother.

"You would."

Opening his eyes at the whispered words that just managed to get to his ears Hiccup stared at the boy from across the room.

Hiro's face was pale, but that could have also been from the dull glow of the screen he was sitting beside. His eyes were blown wide open, his body ceasing in its shaking and remaindering so still that it was slightly disturbing.

"You really would." Hiro repeated, his words still soft. It was almost as if him even saying them was a miracle in itself. "I-If it was to protect my brother, you wouldn't hesitate to-to... you would really..."

Hiccup didn't say anything when Hiro dropped the can to the floor, his hands covering his mouth as he darted over to brunet's bathroom. He continued his silence, grabbing at the handle of his knife as he listened to the sound of Hiro throwing up.

There was no doubt in his mind that, if the boy didn't think it before, Hiro thought he was a monster. After all, only monsters would be able to kill others for their own reasons and not feel a shred of regret in doing so. Only monsters would make the claims of burning the world to nothing but ashes and feel justified behind their actions. He knew what Hiro was going to ask. He knew what the boy couldn't make himself say. If anything happened to Tadashi, if it was to protect his brother, Hiccup would not hesitate to kill anyone that stood in his way.

He could see how that would freak anyone out. How that would scare the shit out of the friends and family of the one he was courting, bu that didn't make it any less true, and Hiccup wasn't going to hide the fact that he would. While he was sure that kind of devoting could be seen as over the top and obsessive, it was the way that things had to be. In Hiccup's world he wouldn't get involved with anyone unless he knew that he could kill for them, because he could never be sure just when someone would strike and when that kind of thinking might turn into a reality.

After a few minutes Hiccup heard the toilet flush and the tap turn on. He could hear as Hiro took a mouthful of water and spit it out, repeating the process over and over until he eventually made his way out again. Without looking at him the boy moved back over to the desk chair with feet that appeared to be to heavy for him to lift off the floor. As the boy dropped himself in the chair he did nothing other than sit back, turning his hazy gaze to the ceiling.

If Hiccup hadn't known what had caused the dark haired male to become so out of it he would have thought that Hiro was stoned off his ass. With a small frown across his lips he simply waited for more questions. He knew that Hiro wasn't done with him just yet.

"My brother's dating a psycho, murdering, crime lord."

Rolling his eyes at the insulting, but true words Hiccup picked his bottle back up.

"You don't get work done with clean hands bud." He muttered, taking a sip once he'd removed the cap.

Hiro said nothing, his eyes sharp once more as they narrowed in on the other.

"Would you try and hurt him if Tadashi ever left you."

With his next sip Hiccup choked, the water sliding down the wrong tube and making him gasp, slipping out of his mouth and all over himself. Yanking the bottle away form his lips he tried to cough it back up, his body heaving with the effort and almost making him hurl, but he managed to get it under control after a few long moments. Rubbing his hand against his chest to try and ease the burn in his lungs Hiccup turned his attention to Hiro.

"Never." He hissed, dropping his hand and placing the bottle back down. "If Tadashi ever wants to leave than that's his choice and I wouldn't lay a hand on him or even bother to get involved in his life again. I wasn't supposed to this time actually."

"Than what happened?"

"You did."

The boy's eyes went wide, his mouth falling agape and his hands tightening against the cargo shorts he was wearing.

"Did Tadashi not tell you?" Hiccup asked, feeling somewhat satisfied with the look over the boy's face. "You remember that guy you pissed off during your bot fighting days right? Yama?" At the sudden intake of air and the hitch of the boy's chest, Hiccup could tell that he did. "He wasn't to happy about what you had done, about the way that you had humiliated him in front of his people. He wanted to destroy you to make an example, so he went after your brother. They originally wanted to burn your store down as well, and I don't even want to mention what they wanted to do to your Aunt, but Yama and his men work for me. After I stole Tadashi back from them, I gave them a very clear indication about what would happen to them if they tried to do anything to you guys."

"I almost got my brother killed?"

For some reason the reaction he received wasn't as great as he thought it would be.

"I almost got Aunt Cass hurt? I...I almost did that?"

Hiccup slowly stood up from his bed and made his way over to the boy. "Hiro." He said, his voice soft, contrasting his hard words from seconds ago as he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Hiro listen." That seemed to get the kid's attention and Hiccup gave him a small smile as the boy looked up at him. "Even if it did happen, it wouldn't have been your fault."

"B-but I was the one who made him so angry. I was the one who..."

"Sh." Hiccup cooed. He could see that Hiro looked like he was about ready to break down, like the boy was ready to burst out in tears about the reality of what could have happened if the monster hadn't been there to scare the demons away. "Even if something would have happened. It wouldn't have been your fault okay? You can't go around blaming yourself for how someone else is going to react to what you do. You could just bump into someone on the street by accident and that could set them off to go and do all kinds of things, but its not your fault. Do you understand?"

Hiccup bit down on his lip when the boy let out a small whimper as his chin dropped to his chest. Hiro gave a nod of his head at Hiccup's words but didn't supply anything further. The brunet knew that the boy wasn't going to let himself cry, as wrong as he was he would see it as a sign of weakness and would keep it from happening.

"I shouldn't have been worrying about you." Hiro said, his voice cracked as he brought his hands up to rub at his eyes. "I should have been worried about what I could have done to get them hurt. At least you can protect them. I-I wouldn't have been able to do anything."

"All ya have ta do is pull the trigger boy,"

Hiccup jerked back, the voice hitting against his mind like a bullet. Calling up memories of the past, bringing the nightmares into full focus. He'd been like Hiro once. He'd had a chance to save his family, but in the end he had been to weak to do anything and they had suffered for it.

"Can't do it can ya boy? Just as I figure', not even ta save yer mom and pop."

"HICCUP!"_

Gasping at the scream that filled his mind Hiccup could feel his breath shortening, could feel himself struggling to breath and suddenly all he wanted was Tadashi. He just wanted him to be here right now to tell him it was okay, to tell him that it was just a bad dream and that he wouldn't let anything happen.

"Hiccup?"

He jumped when a hand was placed on his shoulder, but before they could jerk their hand back Hiccup snatched it. He could feel Hiro trying to pull away but he wouldn't let him, instead he brought his free hand to tangle in the boy's fluffy black hair and force their foreheads together. Just a moment, that was all he needed to reground himself. To tell himself that he was here and not back there, that he wasn't that kid anymore. That they were just nightmares.

Somewhere along the way Hiro had stopped struggling. He just sat there, giving Hiccup the silence and contact that he needed as he placed his free, much smaller hand on the others shoulder. The tiny circles he was rubbing seemed to help, and the way he was muttering this and that under his breath seemed to be helping as well. The kid wasn't any Tadashi, and he would never come close, but he was better than nothing, and Hiccup could do nothing but appreciate that. With just a few more minutes Hiccup managed to calm himself down.

Carefully he let the boy go, licking at his dry lips as he slowly pulled back. Hiro didn't say anything, his lips pressed so tightly together that they were nothing more than a thin line. Hiccup could pretty much hear him screaming questions in his face however but he didn't know how to respond.

"If anyone here is weak Hiro." He said slowly, pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind and locking them there. "It would be me, not you."

"What are you talking about?" Hiro asked and Hiccup winced at the way it was still a little weak from how upset he'd made the boy.

"There's many forms of weakness Hiro." Hiccup said. "Most people that you think are strong are actually very weak. They become strong because they're afraid. Strength is something that you can hide behind, it's a shield that you can use to protect yourselves against others."

"You don't fear monsters once you become one." Hiro muttered, his brows furrowing together as he spoke.

With a nod of his head Hiccup agreed. "Ya."

"What happened to you?"

A grimace overcame Hiccup's face, turning away from the boy for a split second. When he turned back he could see Hiro staring up at him, his gaze open and just drowning in questions.

"I was weak." He said. "I couldn't do something and my parents paid the price for it."

"So you became this?" Hiro asked, waving a hand up and down the other.

"You just gestured to all of me." Hiccup said with a chuckle while Hiro shot him a frown. It was obvious that the boy wasn't trying to joke around.

"Than you aren't weak." Hiro said, not seeming to mind in the slightest that Hiccup hadn't really given him an answer. "You can defend yourself now, you can defend others. You scare the shit out of pretty much everyone you meet. How can you see that as a weakness?"

Hiccup bit back on telling the boy to watch his language. He wasn't his brother after all and considering that his vocabulary was far from clean he couldn't say anything much. So he just turned his energy to the question.

"Because I didn't become this to protect others. I did this for myself. I was only interested in my own survival, it wasn't until I met your brother that I started to care about anyone. If I hadn't met him..." He didn't allow himself to finish. Turning back to Hiro, Hiccup placed his hands on the boy's shoulders and forced him to hold his gaze. "Just don't mistake this for power Hiro, don't mistake it for the strength that counts. Once you do that you're done."

"Does Tadashi see you as the one that saved him from slipping to far?" Hiro asked suddenly, and Hiccup could only stare at him.

"He's never had to."

A form of relief overcame the younger male's face as he went boneless in the chair he was in.

Removing his hands off the boy Hiccup took a step back, glancing over at his clock again. He knew there was no way that he was going to be able to get to sleep now. Not after this conversation. With a heavy sigh he turned back to his bed and peeled off his wet shirt. Tossing it over to the side he dropped himself onto his bed and just laid there with his face resting against his pillow.

The longest silence that the two had shared so far stretched out between them for so long that Hiccup almost forgot that the boy was there. When he heard the squeak of the chair as the boy stood his fingers twitched to grab at his knife. It was only by reminding himself that it was just Hiro that he didn't. When he felt fingers brush against his back he jerked away from the touch and turned to glare at the boy who was kneeling beside his bed.

"Where are all of the scars from?"

He could tell that this was going to be a long day.


	24. Chapter 24

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 24

"Tadashi, Aunt Cass wanted to..."

"Hiro!"

Hiccup gave a small jump in surprise at the sudden outburst before Tadashi shoved him away from him. He let out a curse when his lower back slammed into the desk behind him and the back of his head collided with one of Tadashi's table lamps. In seconds he removed his arms from around the Asian male's broad shoulders so he could cradle his head while the slightly taller male gave a small squeak.

"Oh shit Hiccup! I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine." The brunet muttered, trying to wave his boyfriend off. "Not a word Hiro."

The little sprite already had his lips sucked in, trying his hardest to hold in his laughter as the door slid shut behind him,

"Serves you guys right." The youngest male said, a smug little grin coming to his face while he swaggered up to the two. "I mean making out on school grounds? Really?"

Giving a roll of his eyes Hiccup dropped his hands to start button up his shirt. As glad as he was that Tadashi had Hiro back and that the two were on good terms now, he did miss the short amount of time when he didn't have to worry about Hiro popping in when they were trying to have...a break. It's not like he was having much luck at home either anymore with the boy seeming to appear there as well, but Tadashi was in better spirits so he didn't mind letting it slide.

"What can I do for you little brother?" Tadashi asked, a genuine smile on his face and a dark blush over his cheeks. His hands were running over his own body, trying to fix everything back in place without being to obvious.

Hiro didn't answer the other right away, hopping up on the work space of his brother's, completely ignoring the blueprints and looses leaf sheets that crunched and shifted under his weight.

"You know this moves right?" Hiro chuckled, slipping the tips of his fingers underneath the light and easily shifting it over to the side where it wouldn't collide with Hiccup's head again.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Snickering Hiro turned back to his brother. "Aunt Cass wanted to know if you were going to be coming home tonight or if you were going to be at Hiccup's place?"

When honey brown eyes turned to Hiccup with question the boy shrugged his shoulders. He didn't mind sharing Tadashi again, and he was glad that he hadn't completely ruined the family and that, over the passed few weeks, Tadashi had been switching back and forth from Hiccup's home to Hiro's. It just seemed that whenever Tadashi wasn't with him Hiccup's nightmares would only get worse and he wouldn't be able to sleep much at all. In the back of his mind it bothered him greatly that he seemed to have become dependent on having the other around so often, and he would rather die than admit to anyone that he hated being alone in his home anymore. Before when it had just been him all the time and his riders when they needed to, he'd never noticed just how lonely he was. Having Tadashi around all of the time was really becoming a crutch for him. In a way he guessed it was good that they spent some time away from each other now.

"You don't need to ask for my permission." Hiccup mumbled, putting his hands up in front of him before crossing them lightly over his chest. He didn't know why Tadashi always insisted in trying to see what he thought about the matter, especially when his answer was always the same.

"I know." The oldest male sighed, reaching out and wrapping an arm around Hiccup's shoulders, pulling him close. "I just don't like leaving you alone."

Chuckling, Hiccup pressed a kiss to the underside of the others strong jaw.

"I'll be fine Tadashi. I'm use to being on my own anyways."

The frown never left the others face though, if anything it just seemed to grow deeper. He didn't say anything on the matter however as he just rubbed his calloused hand up and down Hiccup's arm in a soothing matter. Giving a small sigh through his nose in content, the auburn haired male allowed himself to bask in the affection for a moment before he reluctantly pulled away.

"He's all yours Hiro."

He was expecting Hiro to smile at him and nod his head, maybe say something witty in reply, but when he turned his bright green orbs back to the boy he was shocked to see him biting down on the corner of his lip. Wondering just what could be wrong with the other Hamada Hiccup quirked a brow.

"Something the matter bud?"

"Um," Tadashi turned his attention towards his little brother too as the boy started to run one of his hands through his hair while the other one waved around mindlessly in the air for a moment. "Well, it's just, now that I'm thinking about it, Aunt Cass, uh, well it's like she's forgotten how to cook for three people you know? And it leaves a lot of leftovers that I have to eat for the next few days so, you know, if you wanted you could come too Hiccup."

Emerald green eyes widened a little at the badly disguised invite and Hiro's face went red quickly as he continued to stumble over his own excuse.

"You know, just to help us out? If you don't want to than..."

"Of course he does!" Tadashi chimed in, a wide grin over his face as he threw an arm around Hiccup's neck and pulled him in close. "You love Aunt Cass' cooking right Hic?"

"Of coarse." Hiccup gasped out, forcing a smile to his lips while he tried to wriggle himself out of the hold the other had on him.

"Alright great! I'll let her know that you're coming than." Hiro said, jumping down from the counter and shooting the others a smirk. "I'm be right back guys so keep the clothes on okay."

"Ha ha Hiro." Tadashi deadpanned, lightening his grip around Hiccup's neck as the brunet wrapped his own arm around the others waist.

"No promises." Hiccup sassed back, earning a disgusted look from the younger male before he ducked out the door.

"'No promises?'" Tadashi repeated, turning his gaze down to the boy by his side as Hiccup smirked back up at him.

"Well you know, you shouldn't make a promise you can't keep." He purred, tilting his head enough to be able to nip at Tadashi's strong jawline.

"Down boy."

Hiccup let out a long sigh when he was gently refused his offer. He figured as much but he'd still been hoping.

"Alright fine." He grumbled as he pinched Tadashi's side hard enough to get a yelp from him. "But you'll owe me later."

Tadashi only chuckled at the small pout over his face as he placed a kiss to the center of Hiccup's forehead.

"Alright fine you big baby."

The grin over Hiccup's face was quickly chased away by a shutter when the tips of cold fingers caress the warm skin of his lower back under his shirt.

"How do you feel about dessert before dinner?" Tadashi asked with a smirk over his lips and a wicked glint in his eye.

The brunet knew just what that look meant and he could feel his mouth go dry as he swallowed. For one reason or another his words failed him, leaving him to just stand there and stare with beat red cheeks and a glazed over look, images of what he was being promised already running rampant through his mind.

"I'll tell Hiro we'll meet him there." Tadashi chuckled, leaning over to give a quick peck to the other male's lips before he too slipped out the door.

When he was gone Hiccup found that he could breath again. Running his hand through his hair he sucked in a deep breath as his eyes darted around the room. He had never been so glad that his group didn't follow him around all of the time and that in Tadashi's lab they had privacy. If anyone saw how easily he buckled for the Asian male than he might have a lot of people on his ass. They would think that he had gone soft or that he was now a pushover, although he would rather die than allow anyone else other than Tadashi the power that he held over him.

So lost in his thoughts was he that when his phone went off, playing one of his favorite songs since forever, he just about jumped out of his skin. Jerking back sharply he muttered a curse under his breath when he whacked his elbow off of the table behind him as he fished his phone out of his jeans. Without looking at the screen he swiped his finger over it and brought it to his ear.

"Fury here." He muttered, his gaze already narrowing as he got ready to hear something from his group. "What is it?"

"Hiccup, it's nice to hear your voice." The man on the other side purred, the tone of it grating on Hiccup's nerves and making him tense. As soothing and deep as it was it had the effect of listening to nails on a chalkboard. "I feel like we haven't spoken in awhile."

"It's been a little over two weeks Krei. Relax." Hiccup grumbled, his eyes glancing to the door to make sure that Tadashi wasn't hanging around outside.

"Ah yes, outside the Dragons Den. I wonder why that meeting isn't sticking in my mind, especially since I seem to remember your company quiet well." The man said and Hiccup could already imagine him nodding his head at his own words. "Tell me though, since when did getting the information mean getting close to riffraff?"

Biting back on a snappy reply the boy kept his tongue pressed to his teeth. The last thing he wanted to do was to piss Krei off right now. It wouldn't get him anywhere and the man already sounded plenty of pissed. Besides, he'd been scooping out Hiccup's drop off areas and the boy wouldn't put it passed him to tip off the police about his little business if he sassed him. He was really going to have to switch locations soon...

"When have you ever had a problem with the way I do my business? You'll get what you need so don't worry about it." He said, crossing his free hand over his chest while scowling at the air.

"Need I remind you of just what I could do to you?" The man snapped while Hiccup felt himself bristle at the threat.

"And need I remind you that I'm the only one who can do this." He snapped back, his jaw clenching so hard it hurt. "If you think that you can find anyone else to take my place than please go right ahead, but you won't get anyone passed his defenses other than me. Besides all of his work is coded. Do you have any idea how long it's going to take to decode it? Not only that but I still have to dumb it down for your people, this stuff doesn't happen over night you know. He's also still working on it. All of the information I have is just some of his first attempts."

"So you have some of it already?" At this Keri finally sounded interested, apparently able to look over the boy's bout of anger at the idea of information.

"I'm not giving you one diagram of it either. With what he's working on you could blow the whole city sky high if you even so much as screw up the placement of one bolt."

"I'm paying you for that information, anything you get..."

"You might have hired me for this job, but I'm not your bitch Keri, I don't roll over when told and I'm sure as hell not giving you what I have. When I get more of his solid plans than we'll talk, but you asked me to do this at the worst possible time. He's still in his trial stage."

"Watch your tone with me boy." Hiccup found himself rolling his eyes at the words but bit down on his tongue to keep himself from saying anything further. "Don't you think I know what stage he's at?"

"What use is this information to you anyways?" Hiccup muttered. He'd been trying to figure it out since he'd gotten the job but he was still stumped. "Why don't you just do what you always do and just buy him out? Isn't that the way you do things?"

"You might be following him around and getting into his life but you have no idea about this man do you?" Keri taunted. Hiccup found himself tense at the jibe. "Callahan is not a man that can simply be bought, but his inventions are so small minded, they have room for so much more...potential. I don't need to explain myself to you however but I do want that information, and if you're so intent on keeping it away from me than maybe I should just pay you a little visit. I have been dying to see just what your leg looks like now."

A shiver ran down Hiccup's spine, his one leg throbbing where flesh ended and mechanics began.

"Bite me." Hiccup hissed, his teeth clenched tightly and his eyes narrowed at an invisible enemy.

"You know I don't mix business and pleasure Hiccup, but if you're interested..."

"Stop." Bringing his hand up to rub at his forehead Hiccup screwed his eyes shut, forever wishing to get rid of the image that the man had put forth. "I don't want nightmares tonight thanks."

"Send me the information tonight Hiccup, or else nightmares will seem like a blessing."

Before he could reply the line went dead.

Jerking the device away from his ear Hiccup frowned as he turned it off and slipped it back into his pocket. There were no words that he could think of to describe just how much he loathed this man.

"Just a little longer." Hiccup mumbled to himself, dropping his head back and trying to calm down the rage he felt seeping throughout his whole body.

"Hiccup?"

Lifting his head back up he turned his attention to the door. He felt his anger slipping away at seeing Tadashi standing in the doorway.

"You okay?"

Unable to help the dorky little smile that came to his face Hiccup pushed himself away from the desk he was leaning against and pretty much jogging up to the other. Without a word he threw his arms around Tadashi, nearly knocking him over as he pressed his head to the underside of the others jaw, nuzzling against him.

"Never better." He grinned, pulling away and smirking up at him. "Ready to go?"

Tadashi just stared at him for a moment, almost as if he was trying to figure out just what was going on through the boy's head and why he was acting a little off. Hiccup didn't bother trying to help him figure it out however as he trailed a hand up the others broad chest before curling them around the base of his neck.

"Earth to planet nerd." He snickered, lightly ruffling the hair at the nap of the others neck. "You there bud?"

He really wanted to forget the images that Keri had called up. The idea of him and that guy... Ugh, it was enough to make his skin crawl. Keri always did have a weird thing for getting a little to close whenever they met in person, but Hiccup never got the feeling like he was ever actually interested in other men. It seemed to be more of a way to make others uncomfortable than to show any real interest, and it work.

Still, the only thing Hiccup wanted to do right now was just push his whole conversation to the back of his mind. He hated how much Keri checked up on him and how he seemed to appear or call only when he knew he could draw the boy away or get him alone. It was creepy and it always gave the brunet a eerie feeling of being watched.

"You sure you're okay?" Tadashi asked, moving his hand up to wrap around Hiccup's and moved it out from in between them.

With a nod of his head Hiccup allowed his smile to slip a little bit.

"Yup, just, you know, a little tired." He said, using the first lie he thought was passable. "I have no idea how you managed to go to school all day and than hangout with me all night for that long. It's exhausting." He admitted, his fib earning him a small smile.

"Sorry, sometimes I forget you're a night person." Tadashi said while he reached out to ruffle the others hair.

Puffing up his cheeks Hiccup inwardly congratulated himself on how well his lie worked.

"Ready to go?" He asked, changing the topic quickly while he pulled away.

"Yes. I'm ready to go and put you to bed."

"Yes! Wait, what?" Hiccup shot a confused look at the other as Tadashi threw an arm around his shoulders. "Put me to bed? But I thought..."

"You need your sleep Hiccup, and what kind of boyfriend would I be if I kept you awake knowing that?" Tadashi said with a small coo, and a large smirk.

Frowning up at the other Hiccup did nothing other than cross his arms over his chest as the door slid shut behind them.

In away, he guessed that he walked right in to that one.


	25. Chapter 25

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 25

Tadashi bit down on the end of his pen, his brows furrowing together as he reread the question in his textbook. He knew he should have known this answer. He knew that the answer was right in front of him. It eluded him however and the more he thought about it the more his thoughts mixed together in a jumbled heap until he couldn't think straight. Letting out a quiet sigh he gently folded the book shut. Rubbing at his eyes with his hand he cupped his cheek and turned his attention to the dull colored walls of Hiccup's home.

Dropping his gaze from the wall to the laptop that was sitting open, Tadashi watched as the two twins on the screen continued to cause havoc to the small town they were in. Glancing over his shoulder at the one sleeping on the bed he turned back to the scene and pushed his books away. Pulling the laptop from the corner he shrunk the video file and decided to turn his attention to some of Hiccup's blueprints.

Hiccup never had a problem with him looking at this and that, and Tadashi knew that he needed something to take his mind off of his homework, allow him to take a step back. Clicking into Toothless files he lazily scanned over the different prototype blueprints that Hiccup had started off with. He thought it was cute how Toothless was originally going to be very small, no bigger than a small dog and only used to carry messages back and forth. The new name for the little dragons was even adorable, Terrible Terrors.

Chuckling under his breath Tadashi couldn't imagine how odd those things would have looked flying around the city with little messages. In this day and age it didn't make much sense to have this kind of system with cellphones and email and the like, but the design was still cool none the less. Having them could still be useful however. If he got rid of what they were originally for, they could actually be used for something far more interesting. Just add cameras into their eyes and get them working on a long distance control unit and they could be used to sneak into other buildings and...

As the thought really hit home Tadashi sat back. He hadn't thought like that in awhile. It had been a few years at the very least. He actually wanted to infiltrate someone else area. He wanted to go in and take over. Sure it was only for a few seconds but...

Dropping his head down a soft chuckle shook Tadashi's chest. Worst of all, he'd liked the idea, and he wasn't even greatly disturbed by it.

Finished with looking over the blueprint Tadashi closed out of it. As he brought himself forward once more he dropped his chin in his hand and scrolled through. He wasn't going to open another one, it was more just to help his mind unfocused a little bit.

Glancing back at his work, his brows furrowed as the question he had yet to solve glared back up at him.

Maybe it wasn't really the question that was bothering him though. Taking a glance over his shoulder once more he watched Hiccup as he slept. It wasn't very often that the boy had a soundless sleep but so far Tadashi hadn't even heard a whimper from him in the last hour. He couldn't help but smile at the way that Hiccup had his arms wrapped around the plush pillow at his side, or the way that his hair was sticking up in all angles from all of his shifting.

Although he wouldn't have thought it when he first started to stay over, Hiccup really was a mover in his sleep, but not in the annoying, 'I'm going to shove you out of bed and elbow you in the face' kind of way. He just had this odd way of sprawling himself over Tadashi whenever they slept together and was always doing some weird form of cuddling into his side, like he didn't want to be separated, but couldn't get himself to stop moving.

Spinning the chair around to face the other without creating a kink in his neck Tadashi dropped his chin in his hand as he continued to stare at his boyfriend.

There was something that Hiccup wasn't telling him. Tadashi knew that, he wasn't an idiot and he had figured it out awhile ago but never bothered to bring it up. While he knew that there was always something going on with Hiccup, the guy was involved in the 'underworld' after all, this was different. It nagged in the back of his mind that this was closer to home than Hiccup would normally allow, that there was something going on that the other didn't want him to know about for this or that reason. If that was true than it had to be more serious than normal, and that was a very bad sign.

Still, he couldn't right out ask Hiccup what was wrong. He'd tried that and all he got in return was some lame, half-assed lie that he highly doubted even Fred would buy. It made him uncomfortable to even think about going behind Hiccup's back, but there really wasn't anything else he could do. In the end, Hiccup was still Fury, and Fury didn't trust anyone to help him handle anything if he thought that they could get in his way or if they could get hurt, or worse.

Pushing himself to his feet Tadashi carefully made his way over to Hiccup's side. He was thankful for his socks, and how quiet they made his steps as he knelt down in front of the mattress. Very carefully he reached out, his fingertips grazing the edge of the boy's phone. They just had time to wrap around it before forest green eyes pried themselves open groggily.

Thinking fast Tadashi brought up his free hand to cup the boy's cheek, bringing himself close enough to press his lips lightly against the others. When he received a purr rather than a growl he figured that Hiccup had no idea what he was doing and that he was in the safe zone. Pulling back he smiled gently down at the boy, making smooth circular across his cheek with the pad of his thumb.

"Sorry to wake you Hic, go back to sleep. We don't have to leave for another hour."

The brunet let out a huff, mumbling something Tadashi couldn't make out as his eyes slid shut again. Not even seconds later though and he had slipped back into sleep.

Letting out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding Tadashi placed his hand over his chest. His heart was hammering against his hand, looking for a way out from it's nearly being caught. Glancing down to the object in his hands he bit down on the corner of his lip.

This was wrong. Hiccup trusted him enough to be able to fall asleep in his presence without having to worry about anything happening to him. He couldn't look through his personal information, no matter what reason he gave himself.

Placing the phone back down he rocked himself back, sitting on his butt as he stared down at his now empty hands and the tiny object that was right before him.

His eyes glanced down at Hiccup's legs. He couldn't see them under the sheets, but he'd seen Hiccup naked enough to know what they looked like and could draw them blindfolded. He didn't want to say it, or even really think about it, but a tiny form of dread was creeping up on him that whatever Hiccup was involved in, losing his leg wouldn't be the worst of his problems.

With that thought running circles in his mind Tadashi carefully stepped over the brunet so that he was on the other side of him. Laying down he wrapped his arm around the boy's strong waist and pulled him back against his chest. Hiccup let out a sleepy hum of pleasure as he squirmed back in order to bring them closer together and the dark haired male gave a small chuckle as he placed a dry kiss to the side of the others throat.

If something were to happen to Hiccup he had no idea what he would do. He might just lose his mind and whoever hurt him would be begging for death by the time Tadashi was done with them. As scary as that thought was, it didn't come close to the thought of not having the boy at all.

Muffling a whimper by biting down on his lip hard enough to draw blood Tadashi tightened his grip a little bit more.

He wasn't going to lose Hiccup to anything or anyone. Not again.

(***)

"Hi Aunt Cass! Hiro! We're home!" Tadashi called out, a giant smile over his face as he dragged Hiccup in by his hand.

Hiccup gave a tired smile to his boyfriend's enthusiasm, he thought it was rather cute how happy he was to see his family, but he was still a little groggy from just having woken up. He didn't get a lot of sleep these days and anything that he managed to squeeze in between seeing Tadashi, working, upgrading Toothless, and working for Krei was a miracle. Still, he'd gotten in a few hours and that was more than he'd had in a long time.

"Hurry up than!" Hiro called from the second floor, a smile evident in his voice as Tadashi chuckled and ushered Hiccup up the stairs.

When Hiccup placed his first step on the stairs he came to a sudden halt. The only thing that was flashing through his mind was the fact that the last time that he was here, he'd been scrutinized by everyone Tadashi cared about. They'd poked and prodded at him until he'd had enough and had to leave and as far as he knew that was the last time that Tadashi had spoken to his group. Other than Hiro, no one had really tried to make up with the other.

Hiccup winched at that thought, his gut twisting in guilt that everything bad that had happened to Tadashi so far had mostly been his fault.

"Come on Hiccup. They're not going to bite." Tadashi said, gently pushing against Hiccup's back his tone light as if he knew what the other was really remembering.

"I know that." Hiccup muttered, shooting a harmless glare over his shoulder. To prove that he wasn't bothered by it he turned back to the stairs and marched up them with determination in each step and a scowl set over his lips.

He could do this. It wasn't even that bad. Hiro liked him... in a way he guessed, and his Aunt didn't want to send him to jail anymore... at least not that he knew of. At the very least the rest of the nerd squad wasn't there to try and mess with his head.

"Besides, I bite harder." Hiccup put in nonchalantly, feeling somewhat satisfied when he heard Tadashi choke behind him and his steps falter for the briefest of moments.

Reaching the top of the stairs he smiled, somewhat awkwardly, at the two that were already sitting at the table. These kinds of things always made him a little nervous. He always felt like he was going to mess it up some how, just like he had last time.

Remembering that now Hiccup couldn't help but wonder if he'd remembered to apologize to Tadashi's Aunt or not. Seeing as how there was no way he could since he never stopped at the house or called, he was going to have to remember to apologize to her in privet later.

"Hiccup, it's so nice to see you again Sweetie." Cass said, a genuine smile over her lips while he gave back a wince of a smile of his own.

"Ya..."

"Come on." Tadashi chuckled, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the table.

Brown eyes moved to their intertwined fingers, but her expression was unreadable and she didn't say anything. Green caught with brown, but neither said anything, only a wordless form of agreement.

'He gets hurt...'

'I'll hand you the knife.'

Taking a seat next to Tadashi, Hiccup discreetly took a deep breath as he smiled at his family. He was sure that this was going to end a lot better than the first time.


	26. Chapter 26

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 26

Gogo had, had enough. For almost a month now she'd stood by and done nothing as Hiccup came into their school. Watching him with Tadashi, laughing and carrying on as if nothing was wrong or had changed, she had just bit her tongue about it and kept to herself. After all, Tadashi would have to realize how wrong he was sooner or later. He had to see that Hiccup was no good and he had to realize how much he missed his friends.

Than Hiro had joined with them, and that was when she realized that any hope she had on him 'womening up' and apologizing to them first, and ditching the mob boss was never going to happen.

She could tell that the rest of the group was slowly being pulled in by him too. The more that Hiccup seemed to hang around, the more they watched him carefully help Hiro with his project and saw the stupid little mask he put on, the more they were all rethinking their decision on him. Fred was already mumbling that they should apologize and give the guy a chance. Gogo had managed to stop his ideas short with one look, but she knew that wasn't going to be enough to hold them back forever.

It seemed that only she wasn't the one being fooled. She knew how heartless he was, she knew how cruel and two faced he could be. While she did remember a time when she had actually thought he was cute and sweet upon first meeting him for the interview, she could never forget what he had done to her. He had tortured her for hours, he'd threatened her family. She would never forget that, and it was about time that she turned the tables and made him regret it.

Her only problem now was she had no idea how to go about it.

Tadashi had told her that Hiccup didn't want her going to the police since it would mean that certain people that wanted to hurt her would be able to find her. She also had an inkling that Hiccup owned most of the police and that if she had tried anything than they would no doubt make her 'disappear'. He'd already admitted to some people getting rid of ones who bothered him, whether it was true that they were working without his permission she wasn't sure she believe one second. She was sure that Hiccup was making himself seem better than he really was, that he was trying to poison Tadashi's mind against his own friends and lure him away.

That she was not going to stand for.

Tadashi was their friend, and as his friends they had a job to make sure that he stayed on the right path and that he wasn't dragged down by soul sucking demons.

Grinding her teeth, a muscle in her jaw feathered as she tightened the hold she had on her own crossed arms.

There they were again. Tadashi with his arm around that creep's shoulders and Hiro walking backwards in front of them both, a notebook open in his hands as he pointed to something with a wide grin. It irked her that they all seemed to be getting along so well, but she couldn't be mad at her friends. No.

The one that she was seething at was the one who had somehow managed to pull the wool over everyone's eyes.

If she could find out what he did for business. If she could track and follow him, she might just be able to find a way to bring his whole operation to its knees. She knew she was only one person. She knew that it would only be a matter of time before the rest of the group apologized and joined the Hiccup train, but she didn't mind working alone.

Before she had come to this school she was use to being on her own. She'd always been more of a loner and if Hiccup had managed to do a majority of his operations solo than why couldn't she? She was strong and smart, no doubt smarter than he was. She would just have to find his weak spot. She would just have to find the crack in his armor and smash it.

If she could prove to Tadashi what a monster Hiccup really was, what he'd done in the years that they had been separated and how much he had changed. If she could expose his violent nature, she knew that she would be able to, not only get Tadashi back, but Hiro and the rest of the gang as well. And she would.

Regardless of her need for speed, she was actually a very patient person, and she would wait. Collect all of her information, gather her research and test her theories until it was the perfect moment.

Than, she would strike.

(***)

"Hiccup, I think we need to talk."

At the sound of his closest friend's voice Hiccup jerked into sudden consciousness. His knees smoked the top of his desk, making a curse slip passed his lips as papers went flying all over the place when his arms flayed.

"Oh, sorry, I thought you were awake." Astrid said, coming up to his side. There was the smallest of smiles over her lips as she stared down at him and Hiccup could tell that she thought his reaction was hilarious.

"What is it Astrid?" Normally he wouldn't have minded playing their little games, but his eyes were starting to burn both from lack of sleep and from staring at his computer screen. Rubbing a hand down his face he tried to wake himself up a little bit more but it did almost nothing to help.

With a sigh his blond friend perched herself against his desk, her thin but strong arms crossing over her chest as she took him in. He wasn't sure that he liked the look in her eyes. Conversations never went well when she had that look, and the way that her lips were pinching together wasn't good either. Sitting back in his chair he waited to hear what she had to say, even though it was a task to keep his eyes open and to not let them slid back shut.

"It's about this job that you're working on." Once she started Hiccup already knew that it wasn't going to end well. "You've been working on it for almost a month and a half now and you haven't been accompanying us on our work or patrols at all since you started. I don't even remember the last time that you rode Toothless. It's starting to worry everyone."

"It's fine Astrid."

"Is it?" She questioned, both her brows raising as she gave him a pointed look.

When he did nothing but shake his head with a small scowl she placed a hand on his shoulder. It took Hiccup a moment but he finally dragged his gaze away from the scratched up top of his desk to look into the sea blue eyes of his best friend.

"Hiccup, you know I never ask this of you, but I need to know what you're doing."

Although he continued to frown at her he did nothing to knock her hand away.

"Since when have you ever questioned what I do Astrid?" He asked, watching as her gaze narrowed to a dangerous glare.

"Since I'm worried that when you go missing I'll need to know where to look for your body."

Taking a deep breath he stood up from his chair. Her hand fell back to her side, but she didn't move anymore from her spot. She just stayed where she was, carefully watching as he pushed his chair back so he could walk to the middle of his tiny, pathetic house.

"You've always know that, that kind of situation is an occupational hazard in our line of 'work'." Hiccup muttered.

He really had no idea why he'd wanted to get up. He just had the strangest need to move, but now he couldn't think of anything to do other than pace back and forth in the small area of his home. Even his hands seemed to be restless as they ran through his hair, dragged down his face, and rubbed at his cheeks, or even just made odd little gestures in the air.

"What I'm doing is no different than what we normally do. I'm just taking a little longer since... the guy I'm getting the information from is still working on it. It's no bid deal Astrid."

"Emhm."

Shooting her a small glare from the other side of the room Hiccup found his lips twitching downwards at the blank look set over her face.

"You know," placing her hand down on the desktop she tilted some of the papers this way and that as she spoke, "I'm sure by now even Tadashi's noticed that you've been acting a little odd. How long do you think you can keep whatever it is you're doing away from him?"

"Tadashi has nothing to do with this."

"Really?" Her tone alone was enough to make him stop in his pacing. "Are you forgetting just who this guy is Hiccup?" She asked, her head tilting to the side. "I've only met him a few times and heard a few stories about him and I can tell you just from that alone that if he feels like you're doing something that could get you hurt, he will throw himself in the line of fire."

"That's why I don't tell him anything about what this group does or what I do. He has no idea..."

"Oh my gods." Astrid sneered, finally pushing herself away from the desk as she walked up to him. "For such a smart guy you can be so stupid." She said, placing her hands on her hips and rolling her shoulders back as she stood before him. "He will find out, and when he does you better be ready with a really good answer for him."

"He won't." Hiccup insisted.

"He will." Astrid shot back. "You know he will."

"I..." Hiccup found himself choking on his words. He knew that she was right. He knew that Tadashi was eventually going to find out, and when he did he was going to be pissed. "It's not what you think it is Astrid."

Dropping to his bed Hiccup finally gave up. He was to tired to keep this going anymore.

"Well than explain to me what's going on."

Biting down on the inside of his cheek Hiccup turned his attention towards the far wall.

"Krei is making me do a job for him."

"Kind of figured that one out already Hiccup." Astrid said, flipping her bangs out of her eyes.

Just as he went to open his mouth to defend himself, his stomach spoke for him. A low growl filled the air, and with the sudden reminder of the lack of food he'd been eating recently Hiccup's face pulled a grimace as he placed a hand over his aching gut. Astrid let out a sigh, dropping the conversation for now as she jerked her head in the direction of the door.

"Come on. Let's go to Ruff's, and Tuff's place, you can tell me all about it there."

Not without a groan did Hiccup rock himself to his feet and follow after her.

(***)

"Thanks Gustav." Hiccup said, a small smile on his face as the boy gave a wide grin back.

"No problem at all Hiccup!" He grinned, always overly excited to see the other. As he turned his attention to Astrid however his smile turned a little more swavy while his placed his elbow on the edge of the table and leaned into her personal space. "And is there anything else I can grab for you my lady?" He purred.

"Ugh." Without a second thought Astrid placed her hand over his face and shoved him away. "Go back to work Gustav." She muttered, only making the boy chuckle as he leaned towards Hiccup.

"She's so pretty when she plays hard to get."

"Gustav."

"I'm going babe." Gustav grinned, taking a quick step back out of her reach. "Try not to miss me to much and just call if you need anything."

Hiccup couldn't help snickering to himself, having to duck his head to hide his grin when the blond shot him a dirty look. Turning his attention towards the fish stew he'd ordered he took a few mouthfuls. There was no reason that he had to talk and allow his food to get cold. Astrid seemed to get the hint as well as she bit into her own tuna melt.

When the two were finally down to their last few bites and just sipping on their drinks, they finally turned their attention back towards each other.

"Okay, so tell me all that's going on."

Placing his own cup of hot chocolate on the table top Hiccup licked his lips for a moment, taking a few more seconds to gather his thoughts.

"As you already know apparently, Krei offered me a job. Well, not so much as offered as forced, but anyways." Hiccup waved off, sitting back in his seat as he took a quick glance out the window. "I told him I would do it but only if it didn't get any of you guys involved. What he wants me to do is to get some of the blueprints from one of the professors at Tadashi's school and to rewrite it all in a way that his own team can understand as well as decoding everything."

"What is it that he wants?" Astrid asked, stirring her sprite with her straw, the clicking of the ice against the glass distracting Hiccup momentarily.

"Um, it's actually something for the government." Hiccup muttered. He couldn't stop the small flinch he gave at the sudden rage that crossed his friend's face.

"You have got to be joking. Do you know what could happen if you get caught!" She snapped, drawing the attention of some of the people at their tables.

Quickly waving his hands to try and get her to calm down Hiccup shot a glare at everyone. When he was sure they all turned away and went back to their own business he dropped his glare and turned back to the girl.

"I mean this is really serious Hiccup. If the government goes after you, you know what could happen?"

"I know. But just hear me out okay?" He pleaded.

Although she didn't seem happy about it she settled down, her rage still shimmering in the depths of her eyes but well contained.

"Well than please. Go on."

The heavy dose of attitude in her voice made him frown, but he supposed that she had a right to be mad. They did run big operations and they did own a lot of law enforcement, but he knew that even he had a limit. He knew that he wasn't untouchable by any means and if he didn't play his cards right than everything would just come crumbling from underneath his feet in a second. Still, there was no going back now.

He knew that Astrid wasn't stupid, but he also knew that if he started to throw a bunch of science jargon at her there was no way that she was going to understand him either. So, taking a breath as he translated everything into something she could understand, he began.

"From what I've been able to gather so far Robert was hand picked for a project that was secretly issued by the government. I still have no idea how Krei ever found out about it, but he did somehow and now he wants the information."

"What's he building?"

Sucking in his lips Hiccup dropped his gaze to the side. "From what I've been able to translate, it's a type of magnet that will mimic a gravitational pull to a certain degree. The theory behind it is that it should be able to be dropped off anywhere and, once activated, keep anything grounded such as planes, helicopters, even bullets, but so far all of the prototypes and test runs have shown that it ends up being so strong that it actually crushes humans as well."

He watched as Astrid's eyes went wide.

"No way. He wouldn't really help out with something like that would he?"

"He's a military man." Hiccup said, a small shrug of his shoulders coming out more jerky than smooth. "I'm sure the idea of keeping as many of our soldiers safe and causing less blood shed sounds like a good idea."

"But what about the people on the other side? How big is the range? It could end up hurting civilians as well."

"Well yes." Hiccup sighed, "which is why he's trying so hard to fix that problem. As for the range well, imagine it spans all across Sansfransokyo, and than go farther."

"Oh my gods."

"Ya." Hiccup let out another long sigh, dropping his face into his hands.

"How does it affect humans though? It's just a magnet right? Humans aren't made of metal."

"Well there's small amounts of iron in everyone actually. Not to mention the fact that humans do ware a lot of metal. Besides it's not just a magnet. That's just part of it. What it is, is gravity."

"Dear gods."

That seemed to be all Astrid could think of as she sat back in her seat.

"From what I can tell the last thing that Robert wants to do is actually get the machine to kill people, just make it so that can't move and he's been trying to figure it out. Krei wants all the information on it however and than he wants to change it. I have no idea what he plans to use it for but I can't imagine that it will be any good."

"You're not really going to give it to him are you?" She asked, her brows drawing together as he bit down on the corner of his lip.

"Well..."

"Hiccup."

"I have a plan Astrid." He said quickly. "I'm... okay, so this is a government secret project right?"

"Yes?" She replied, quirking up on eyebrow skeptically.

"Well that means that if they were to find out that Krei was stealing information on it than..."

"Oh!"

"Ya."

"But," Astrid shifted closer, pushing her drink out of the way as she leaned across the table, "couldn't that still get you in trouble? Wouldn't Krei sell you out the moment that he realized?"

"Well he could." Hiccup agreed with a light shrug of his shoulders, "but I'm working with them."

He kept his gaze carefully on her's, wanting to see her reaction to this information. To know what he was going to have to do if she responded negatively. Oddly enough her face lost all expression. He couldn't even read her eyes as she just stared at him, her arms still crossed over the table and the only noise being that of the restaurant around them. He knew that she knew what this meant, and he could tell that she wasn't going to be happy with it.

"So you're..."

"Done after this job." Hiccup finished for her, his eyes dropping to the table with a small nod of his head. "Yeah."

"How on earth...?"

"Once Krei told me what he wanted me to get and after I found out what it was used for I... I couldn't let him get his hands on something like that." He muttered, shaking his head with a tight frown. "So I told Robert."

"The guy you're getting the information on?" She asked, snapping out of her daze and narrowing in on him with sharp eyes.

"Yes. Long story short, I play my part carefully and they can finally nail Krei, and they get me in the same breath. They won't send me to jail or anything for helping them, but I'll be out of the game permanently and they will be watching me from than on to make sure." He sighed, rubbing at his forehead with the tips of his calloused fingers. "I won't be allowed to lead you guys anymore."

"That's why you haven't been accompanying us." Astrid said, her brows arching upwards as both of her hands wrapped around her glass. "You're getting us ready for when you leave."

With a small smile Hiccup simply gave a nod of his head.

"We knew that this was going to have to end some time Astrid."

"I just figured we'd end it all together." She snapped. A moment later she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she reopened them her gaze turned towards the outside and her fingers starting to rhythmically drum against her glass.

"We know this place still needs the Edge." Hiccup muttered under his breath. "We've been doing really well on keeping the crime in this place down and controlled, but they don't want me to lead it anymore. I'll be passing the torch over to you."

The look of surprise that overcame her face was almost comical. He couldn't help but chuckle at it as he reached out and placed a hand around hers.

"You can't be all that shocked Astrid. You've always been my second in command and you know how to keep them in line better than anyone."

"I know but Hiccup..."

"Nope." Hiccup said, pulling back and giving a firm shake of his head. "My decision is final."

Her throat flexed as she swallowed hard. For a moment she dropped her gaze to the table, unable to say a word as she processed everything that she had been told. Hiccup frowned as he watched her raise a hand to quickly wipe the tears from her eyes before they could fall and he respectfully turned away.

"You're still going to come and visit us right?"

As he drew his attention back to her once more all he could see was how red her eyes were getting from holding back tears. With a small smile he gave a nod of his head.

"Of coarse."

"Okay."

"Ow!"

He hadn't been expecting the solid punch that she threw across the table at his arm, leaving it to hang dead at his side as he tried to rub the pain away in vain.

"That's for leaving us all in the dark about this." She snarled, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared down at him.

"Alright, that's fair." He pouted, earning himself a small but sincere smile.

Hiccup couldn't help but smile back. It was a huge relief to finally tell someone about this. Sure he was still worried about when he was going to have to tell the rest of the gang, but at least now he had someone who could stand by his side as he told them. Besides, if something did go wrong. If Krei somehow found out what he was doing, than at least Astrid would know what had really happened to him and would tell Tadashi. The last thing he wanted if things went sour was to disappear and leave Tadashi in the dark upon where he went.

"When are you going to tell Tadashi?"

Puffing up his cheeks, Hiccup thought about the answer. He really had no idea. He didn't know if he was allowed to or if he should ever.

"I don't know. Maybe after it's all over and done with. I don't want him getting involved and knowing him he would."

Astrid gave a frown at the information but didn't press. "Alright than. What about all the information you're getting? From what I saw on your desk it looks like you're really trying to break the encryption on it. Wouldn't it be easier if he just gave it to you?"

"Yes." Hiccup agree, wishing he could. "But we have to make it look as real as possible. Besides, I'm kind of using it to stall."

"Good idea." She nodded before asking another question. "What about the other guy's project? You're just going to let them continue with it?"

"Once he works out the bugs in it, it will be a safer way of fighting wars."

"What if the enemy gets the weapon and uses it on us?"

"Still working on that." Hiccup sighed, sitting back in his seat. "Besides, the project will take a few years to complete yet and Robert's even mentioned dropping it altogether. Really we're just keeping it up till we get Krei."

Sitting back in her seat Astrid picked up her drink. Taking a sip she kept her gaze focused on the inside of her cup as Hiccup picked up his own forgotten hot chocolate.

He knew that he'd dug himself in deep with this one. He knew that he was risking a lot. If Krei found out what he was doing... his mind shuttered at even just the thought of it. No matter what though he didn't want Tadashi to get involved. If things did go bad, the last thing he wanted was Tadashi to be dragged down with him.


	27. Chapter 27

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 27

_"Hiccup Haddock."

"It's Fury."

The man standing on the opposite side of the table ignored his words as he dropped a large folder on the table with a loud snap. Fury lifted his gaze away from the boring yellow item that was spilling out of the sides and was thicker than his fist, to the man who had a large blond beard that was tied up in knots on his face. Neither of them said a word to each other as the officer made himself comfortable across the ugly white table. Taking his turn to ignore the man for now he turned his dark green eyes to the mirror that sat in front of him.

For just a moment he wondered why they even bothered to have the mirrors anymore. Everyone knew that there were people on the other side, why not just make it see through? What would anyone in his position care to see the ones that they knew were watching? Or maybe it was to protect witnesses or something. If that was the case than it made sense.

Fury could feel a smirk twitch the corner of his lips as he continued to stare at it for just a few moments more. Sending whoever might be watching a wink, he than dropped his gaze to the man who seemed to finally be done settling in.

"So Hiccup,"

"Fury."

"I'm going to tell you how it's going to go, and than we're going to take it from there." The man said, placing his large hand on the folder and flipping it open to a random page. It was only than that Hiccup noticed that the man only really had one hand, his other as a stump and had just been left without anything covering it."You have been brought in for the attempt of murder on..."

"Let's not be over dramatic." Fury said with a roll of his eyes as he leaned back heavily in his seat. "I wasn't going to kill him, or any of them."

The officer pursed his lips together, staring at the boy over the rim of his glasses with a single busy brow raised in skepticism.

Fury only shot him a smirk back, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. There was no plan to murder anyone. Sure people would end up in the hospital, and maybe the ground if things went bad, but they had never planned for it to happen. There was nothing these people could do to pin him for attempted murder.

"Well you certainly weren't going to be handing out cookies either." The man said, flipping another page and dropping his gaze back to the sheets in his hands.

"Guilty." Fury smirked, clasping his hands together, an almost wild look in his eye as the sound of the chains around his wrist jingled in the air. "Trust me though, I'm not stupid. I know when I've been caught, so why don't you just tell me what's next."

Dropping the folder in his hands, Officer Whoever glared at him openly.

"Your father would be so ashamed Hiccup."

The words were like a sucker punch to the gut, leaving him winded and thrown off. He worked very hard to keep his face natural however as he took in the man again.

His father was the old chief of this place, so if everyone here knew him that didn't shock Fury to much, but he couldn't help but wonder if this man had been more than an acquaintance with his father and was really a friend. He highly doubted however that he would forget someone who was missing a limb, or that had a face like that. Than again there wasn't much other than bits and pieces he could remember about his life before Alvin had entered it.

Faking a look of disinterest he allowed a smirk to curl the corners of his lips as he relaxed further into the chair he was chained to.

"The past doesn't interest me much." He hummed, kicking out one of his legs from beneath the chair. "I'm far more interested in the present."

The officer took in a deep breath through his noes, his shoulders stiffening as his chest puffed out.

"No interest for the future eh?"

With a shrug, Fury crossed his arms over his chest. "Not particularly. It's ever changing and pointless to learn how to control unless you can get a handle on the present."

"I'd say that you didn't control it well enough in your past if this present is your future from than."

Letting out a bitter chuckle Fury gave a sharp click of his tongue as he turned away for a moment. Turning back to the blond man across from him he gave him a wicked grin as he shifted in his seat.

"I'll have to agree on that, but if you think that this means that I'm done or that I won't be coming back, you're sadly mistaken."

His voice was a low hiss, a clean cut of a promise of the future he was already planing in the precious moments that he had now.

The man across from him sat back in his own seat, his eyes falling to the sheet in apparent boredom as he let out a guff sounding sigh.

"Well, that maybe be true," he said, his voice seeming just as disinterested as his appearance lead on, "but you won't be causing a problem here."

Tilting his head to the side Fury allowed the man to see his apparent confusion, although he was paid no mind as the folder was picked up and reshuffled. When a paper was taken out and slid across the table to be placed right in front of him he slowly took his eyes off of the man and dropped them to the sheet.

"You're to be shipped out of here at first light tomorrow. You'll be taken to a high security prison for minors in New York. You'll remained there until you're eight-teen and than you will be released but you will still be under surveillance for the rest of your life. You will not be allowed back into Sansfransokyo, and the moment that we catch wind that you're within five-hundred meters of the city we will be called and you will be sent back to jail, this time permanently."

"That seems a little harsh." Fury muttered, dropping his hands on the paper and tapping his finger against it. "I mean I understand the being sent away part but never..."

"If you were older than eight-teen you would just be sent to prison permanently. You should be thankful about this considering all of the damage that you've done over the years."

"What about Skrill?" Fury asked. He tried to keep his voice as level and disinterested as he had been so far, but from the smile over the other man's face he could tell that he didn't quiet manage to pull it off.

"You mean Tadashi?" The man said, his voice light with an edge of amusement. "He will remain here under the watchful eye of his Aunt."

"She couldn't even watch him the first time, what makes you think she can do it now?" Fury snapped.

The idea of him going anywhere without Skrill made his stomach twist. They'd been friends for years, they'd been through everything together. The fact that they were going to separate them, that they were going to make it so that they could never see each other again... Fury finally found a sense of dread creeping over him.

"We will be watching him as well, at least for a little while, and he has been set up to go to therapy. We're also thinking that by getting you out of the way, he won't be much of a problem anymore."

Fury's jaw clenched, his teeth grinding hard against each other. Rage was boiling over deep in his chest and the only thing he could think about was striking the man who sat across from him with such a content look over his face that it just about made Fury sick.

"I had a talk with the boy just awhile ago actually. Just before I came in to talk to you. Nice lad." The man said easily, while Fury's fingers curled in to rest tightly against his palms, the look over his face darkening. "I think he'll do very nicely without having you around to drag him down."

With a beastly snarl Fury shoved his hands against the table set before him. It nailed the man solidly in the stomach, winding him as his body lurched forward from the impact. Shooting up from his seat Fury reached out to grab at the man, his fingers stopping short of the shirt that the other was wearing by mere inches. Snapping his teeth he glared down at the chain that was looped around the table and his wrist. Turning his attention away from that a laugh that sounded more demonic than anything fell passed his lips as he glared down at the winded man.

"I'm the only reason that, that kid is still breathing." He hissed, blood slowly seeping down his wrist from being pulled so tightly. "And don't forget what made me. If you guys had done your jobs right, none of this would have happened."

The door was thrown open, creating a loud bang as it slammed against the wall. Two uniformed cops ran in with their guns at their sides. With a smirk Fury raised his hands in the air and flopped back in his seat.

"Hey, easy their guys." He purred, crossing his legs as they ran to the assistants of the other. "It's all in good fun."

Fury fell into silence as the blond man that he'd been talking to waved the help off and pushed the table away from himself with a heavy grunt. Grinning up at the guy he relished in the utter loathing that poured off of him as bright blue eyes narrowed in on him.

"Get him out of here." The officer snarled.

Fury didn't bother fighting them as they yanked him up from his seat.

They could say what they wanted, but he was going to get back here, and when he did, all these years would seem like child's play. Besides, there was no way he was going to leave Skrill behind. Maybe they were right about Fury being bad for him, and Fury knew that Skrill was smart enough to actually become something in the future, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't get in trouble every now and than, and if he did, Fury would always be there to bail him out._

(***)

"Hiccup give that back!"

"Nope."

Tadashi couldn't help the small smile that came over his face as he listened to his little brother and boyfriend arguing once again. Taking a look over his shoulder he rested his hand against his cheek as he watched Hiccup holding up one of Hiro's tools high over his head, a playful grin over his lips as Hiro fought to snatch it back by jumping all around.

"Hiccup come on." Hiro scowled, his brows pinching together in aggravation as Hiccup twirled the screw driver in his hand.

"And what would be the magic word?" He asked, a sly smirk coming to his face.

Hiro seemed to fume, refusing to say 'please' when the guy was being so infuriating. Tadashi found his interest peeking however as a smirk slowly made its way over the boy's lips. When he got that look it usually meant that he was up to something.

"Tadashi."

"Wha...?"

"Gottcha!"

Hiro quickly snatched the item from Hiccup's loose grip and jumped back, out of the others reach.

Tadashi raised a brow as he kept his eyes on the two, wondering just why hearing his name had that kind of effect on the auburn haired male. Hiro didn't seem surprised at all by the outcome, a grin over his face as he tossed the item from hand to hand.

"Knew that would work." He snickered, obviously highly amused by the look of shock that still rested over Hiccup's. "You just lose sight of everything when it comes to my brother."

Tadashi couldn't help the giddy grin that came over his face at the dark blush that suddenly overcame Hiccup's. As the brunet tried to find a valuable defense he only managed to sputter out incoherent words, making Hiro smirk evilly knowing that his theory was correct and making Tadashi laugh just a little harder. His laughter seemed to draw Hiccup's attention as he turned to glare at the other with a small snarl settled over his lips.

"Quiet you." Hiccup snapped, doing his best to seem threatening. The look fell short though as Tadashi pushed himself off of his chair and turned to face the boy fully.

"Oh come on." Tadashi snickered, drawing himself closer to the other. "I think it's sweet."

"Ugh, sorry I said anything." Hiro gagged.

Reaching out to ruffle his brother's hair Tadashi happily wrapped his arm around Hiccup's waist, pulling him in closer.

A warm feeling poured into his chest when Hiccup leaned into him, not even seeming to think about it while he stuck his tongue out at Tadashi's little brother. He loved seeing this soft, playful side of Hiccup. Even when they had been hanging out there had still been that hard edge to him, that danger of unknown potential that he carried around with him just as easily as his trademark smirk. Seeing how much he was relaxing now and how open he was always did a number on Tadashi's heart.

When Hiccup went to pull away in order to lunge at his brother and snatch the item back, Tadashi turned his attention back to what was happening. Tightening his hold he yanked Hiccup back, pulling him off his feet and smirking at the surprised little yelped that came forth.

"Hey, enough of that you two." He scolded, "Hiro you should be working on your project, and Hiccup," he sighed dropping him back down on his feet and receiving a glare in return, "you should let the kid work."

"Alright, alright." Hiro said as he waved his hand in the air. "I'll get to it."

"Thank you."

Turning back to the other Tadashi couldn't help but snicker at the disgruntled look over the male's face and the way his arms were tightly crossed over his chest.

"Don't manhandle me." Hiccup muttered, the bush over his face to cute to take his anger seriously.

Realizing that he might have wounded the others pride however Tadashi found his smirk lessening and a more sincere smile making its way there instead.

"Sorry Hic."

Hiccup continued to frown at him, but after a short amount of time a smile made its way to his face as he gave a small roll of his eyes.

"It's fine." He said. A second later and his smile dropped as his head tilted to the side, his eyes staring at nothing as he continued. "I just didn't realize how easy it was for someone to do that to me. It's kind of embarrassing."

"You wouldn't let your guard down enough for someone to do that to you." Tadashi grinned. "Just me."

"The amount of sap in this room." Hiro groaned, shuffling his way to the door.

Tadashi was content enough to just ignore his brother, but when Hiro gave a startled yelp, his and Hiccup's attention snapped to the door, body's tense. Upon seeing Wasabi standing there Tadashi relaxed, however Hiccup stayed just as tense and ready as before. While there was no way the Asian male was going to allow his boyfriend to attack one of his friends, he could understand the need for Hiccup's readiness and chose not to comment on it. After all, the last time that these two had really spoken together Wasabi had been ready to start a fight in Hiro's defense.

"Hey little man." Wasabi said with a strained smile, all of his attention on Hiro. "Do you mind if I talk to your brother for a second?"

Hiro glanced back at Tadashi, a small frown on his face as he waited for the go ahead from his brother. When Tadashi gave a nod of his head Hiro quickly turned back with a loose shrug of his shoulders.

"Ya sure. They were kicking me out anyways so I could focus on my school work."

Shifting passed the other Hiro tossed a look over his shoulder as he waved back to the two in the room.

"See ya guys later."

Tadashi took a glance to his side when he heard Hiccup shuffle on his feet. He briefly watched as the auburn haired male hoisted himself up onto his worktable. While he was sure that to anyone else it might have seemed that Hiccup was taking this sudden meeting lightly, Tadashi knew better. Hiccup had placed himself right next to Tadashi's toolbox. A thing that was just overflowing with sharp and pointy objects that the underground king could use if things went bad. He just really hoped that Wasabi was here on good terms or else it might just end up in a total disaster.

"Hey Wasabi." Tadashi said, turning his full attention to his much taller friend, at the same time discreetly moving himself in front of Hiccup. "What can I do for you?"

"Actually," the darker male said as he nervously played with his fingers for a moment before forcing them to drop at his side, "I wanted to talk to both of you."

"About what?" Hiccup's voice was hard, with an edge of bitter coldness that had them both flinching. There was nothing more that Tadashi wanted to do at that moment other than to reach back and give the other a solid whack on the leg for his lack of discretion to hide his dislike. He was going to ruin any chance they had at making amends with one of Tadashi's closest friends.

Giving the other a sharp look over his shoulder instead Tadashi frowned at his boyfriend. "Hiccup." His tone was a warning in itself and made Hiccup let out a heavy sigh as he placed his hands up.

"Fine, I'll play nice."

With that settled he drew his attention back to the darker skinned male. He noticed that Wasabi's eyes didn't quiet drop to him for a while, instead staying glued on the auburn haired male. It reminded him of how people would act around a dangerous animal that they would run into. Not taking their eyes off of it, afraid it might strike the moment they did. Tadashi knew better though. He'd given Hiccup his warning, and that was all the guy needed to stay put.

"What did you want to talk to us about?"

Finally moving his gaze over to Tadashi, Wasabi let out a small sigh, his shoulders slumping forward and his eyes dropping to the ground momentarily.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for how that night ended last month. We...I shouldn't have acted that way and I see that I might have been to quick to judge." As Wasabi spoke he returned his gaze to Hiccup, his body tensing slightly as he did. "You have to understand though that you did hurt one of my friends."

"I don't deny it." Hiccup muttered flatly.

"And I don't have the same past with you that Tadashi does."

"Not even close."

"So I still don't like you."

"The feeling is mutual."

"But," Wasabi said, his words becoming tighter and tighter with every tidbit that Hiccup threw back at him, "I would like to be able to talk to Tadashi again, and I guess since you're now part of that deal, you would have to come hangout with us as well."

"Not a chance in hell."

Giving the auburn haired male a quick whack to his knee Tadashi didn't take his eyes off of his friend. He could understand why Hiccup didn't want anything to do with them. Hell, if he was in Hiccup's place he would have felt the same way. In the same breath though he really wanted to be able to hangout with his old group again.

"Look man." Wasabi said, a scowl coming to his face as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm sure that if I hadn't known what you've done than I wouldn't have a problem with you. In fact you seem like a pretty cool guy when you're just hanging out with Hiro and Tadashi, but the fact is that I can't see past what you've done and honestly I don't know how they can."

Tadashi bit back on anything he could have said. His friends still had no idea that they had been partners in crime, quiet literately, back when he was young. As far as they knew Hiccup had just saved him and that's how they knew each other. If Wasabi did know everything that he had done, just how would he react towards him? How would he look at him the same way? Hiccup seemed to be keeping his mouth shut on the matter to, and silently, Tadashi thanked him for that.

"But Tadashi's a great guy and I don't want to lose him as a friend just because he chooses to hangout with you."

"Understood."

Hiccup's voice was oddly monotone as the word was spoken. Taking a glance back at his boyfriend Tadashi could see that he was playing around with his phone a little bit. He didn't seem to bothered by this information at all.

"Tadashi's been wanting to hangout with you guys again too." Hiccup said after a moment, his bright green orbs lifting from his phone to the man across from them. "He just wanted you to apologize first."

"I'm right here." Tadashi put in, raising his hand. When Hiccup gave his hand a whack with a smirk Tadashi couldn't help but grin back, shoving his leg away when Hiccup had started to lightly whack him with his foot.

"I..." The aggravation in the others voice was apparent the second he opened his mouth. Slowly though he closed it, screwing his eyes shut as he let out a long sigh before opening them again. "Okay. I can understand that." He said, his palms facing towards the ground as he spoke. "Tadashi... Hiccup. I'm... sorry for what I did that night. It was wrong to gang up on you like that."

"Sorry for hurting your friend." Hiccup said, his apology shocking them both as Tadashi snapped his head around to look at him. "Trust me. If there was any other way I could have done things I would have, but you don't get very many choices in my kind of work."

A thick silence filled the room as Wasabi eyed the other carefully, his gaze narrowed sharply while he took him in.

"Are you expecting me to forgive you for that?"

"Nope." Hiccup said, hopping down from the table and standing next to the other. "I just needed you to know."

The two continued staring at each other for a long moment, neither of them daring to take their gazes away from one another while Tadashi just stood off to the side. Although it would seem that they had put aside their differences, at least somewhat, he had no idea if he was going to have to jump between them at any second. When Wasabi's gaze dropped down to Hiccup's legs though Tadashi knew just want kind of thing he was wondering about. Hiccup seemed to catch on too and didn't even flinch in pulling up his pant leg.

Oddly enough Tadashi was proud of the boy for being able to show his leg to others without a second thought anymore. When they had first started dating it was hard for Tadashi to get Hiccup to do anything to expose his leg and to see him showing it now with as much disinterest as if he was showing off flesh rather than metal was amazing.

"You don't come out whole doing my kind of business either." Hiccup stated flatly, dropping the fabric back into place. Without another thought towards Wasabi, who seemed to have grown a little pale at the sight of the prosthetic and the idea of what could have really happened to Gogo, Hiccup turned to face Tadashi. "Somethings come up with the Edge. I have to go alright?"

Blinking down at the other Tadashi couldn't help but wonder what he was talking about. It was barely midday. Mostly everyone from the Edge should have been sleeping by now. That again some of their business were day business, like Snotlout's acting school, Fishleg's bookstore, and the twins bistro. He guessed that they could have heard something and messaged Hiccup about it, but he highly doubt that it was true. Still, there was really no reason for Hiccup to lie about it so...

"Okay. Text me later." He said, wanting so badly to lean in and give the other a kiss on the cheek. Both of them knew better than to show that they were dating around his friend's though. They were going to have to take it one step at a time with these guys. Instead he gave a light pat to Hiccup's shoulder, earning himself a small grin in return as Hiccup gave a nod of his head.

"He's all yours." He muttered to Wasabi as he brushed his way by and was out the door.

Whatever they had messaged him it seemed to be urgent news and Tadashi couldn't stop the small seed of regret that grew in his stomach over the fact that he hadn't checked Hiccup's phone when he'd had the chance.

(***)

Hiccup scowled as he hit the call button on his phone while he made his way through the school halls. He only had to wait for two rings before the person on the other end picked up.

"What do you want now Krei?" He grumbled, his eyes narrowing as he threw open a door that lead to an empty stairwell, Krei already barking instructions into his ear.

He was so caught up in his own conversation he didn't even realize Gogo looking around the corner that he passed, her eyes carefully watching as the door slid shut and her ears straining to hear what was being said between the two. He never saw the smirk that came to her face, or the wicked intent behind it.


	28. Chapter 28

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 28

Tadashi tried to bite down on the words that were pressing against his lips, and although it worked to keep them contained, his thoughts still ran wild with everything he so desperately wanted to get out.

There was something going on. He wasn't that big of an idiot. He could tell that something was up with Hiccup. No matter how smooth he was about asking though it never got him anywhere. Hiccup knew just how to side step him and doge. The guy was a fucking master at it, which is one of the reasons that it was so infuriating to talk to him.

As good as he was at mentally hiding what was going on however his physical appearance told loads. There were deep bags under his eyes and they seemed to be getting darker every time Tadashi saw him. He'd grown a lot paler in the recent weeks as well, his face seeming to be zapped of almost all color and giving him more of a ghost like appearance. While Tadashi remembered times when Hiccup would forget to eat and sleep thanks to a few 'missions' he never remembered it going on for this long, or for the boy to allow it to become this obvious.

Even people in the shadows were starting to whisper.

It was like watching a real live zombie lugging itself around, but whenever Hiccup would realize Tadashi was there or that he was watching him he always seemed to perk himself up. Telling jokes and helping him with his projects as if nothing was wrong. As sweet as Tadashi thought that was it also stung immensely. Something big was going on with Hiccup and to know that his old partner didn't trust him enough to tell him what it was hurt more than he cared to admit.

For now all Tadashi could do was watch and wait. As much as he hated it, it was necessary. None of his questions were getting him anywhere and he wasn't one to keep up with the same idea if it didn't give him results. So instead he kept his mouth shut and just watched.

He played along like Hiccup wanted him to. Laughed along with him and participated in all of their conversations, but on the inside he was starting to seethe.

Hiccup had mentioned in passing about what he did, but other than what little he had been told Tadashi knew nothing of that part of his life anymore. He knew that it shouldn't have bugged him, Hiccup just didn't want to drag him into anything again and he could understand that, but the problem was that it did bother him. It bothered him a lot actually. It was as if, no matter what they had been through together, Hiccup didn't believe that he was the same anymore. As if he thought that by telling Tadashi anything it would either send him in the other direction to avoid it or would be to much for him to handle. Hiccup's world had been Tadashi's world once though, and he knew that although he might have been a little rusty in it, it was nothing that he wouldn't snap back into to given the chance.

He was going to find out what was going on. So help him god.

(***)

"Alright, we're doing this."

She left no room for question in her statement that was normally posed as such in order to hear the feedback. That wasn't something she had any interest in getting however so instead she turned her back on the others and trusted them to follow after her. She knew that if they did start asking her if she was sure that she wanted to do this she would have snapped and told them what it was really about, but she couldn't afford to have her plans ruined before they even began and so she worked carefully to keep herself looking as calm as possible.

When Wasabi had told her that he'd gone and apologized to Tadashi and to Hiccup as well, she had been furious. When Wasabi started to tell them that the guy was actually really smart and kind of interesting she could see that he was casting his spell over her darker skinned friend as well. As much as being stabbed in the back by another person she considered to be a friend had stroked her rage, it had also given her an idea. If she wanted to get close enough to Hiccup to destroy him, than what better way to do that than to become one of his friends? It was like going behind the enemy lines or being a double agent. It would work and before the guy would even know it she would have a noose around his neck and would be shoving him over the edge.

First things first however, she actually had to apologize and make him put his guard down. Considering what he did for a living she didn't imagine that, that particular task would be as easy as it seemed.

So far in her plan all she had managed to find out was that he was involved with Krei somehow. She hadn't caught on to what they were talking about and she hadn't seen Hiccup go to his phone any other time he'd been here this week, but she just knew that if it involved Krei, it couldn't have been any good. She really couldn't wait to tell Tadashi about this, but she defiantly wanted to have more evidence to go against him than what she had. She knew that if she tried to rat the boy out now it would only lead to her own downfall, which is what made this plan so perfect.

Walking in the lead of her group as they nervously shuffled behind her, they made their way to Tadashi's privet part of the lab.

"Are you sure that you want to do this Gogo?" Honey asked, bringing herself up on the left side of her friend as said female narrowed her gaze but kept it forward.

"Tadashi's my friend and if I have to make peace with that... with Hiccup than so be it." She grumbled, working hard to keep the sound of disgust out of her voice.

Maybe this wasn't going to be as easy to pull off as she thought...

Pushing her doubts to the back of her mind she brought herself to a stop before the sliding door. With a raise of her hand she could hear the way that her friends all seemed to hold their breath at the same time. Not giving herself any time to back out she knocked on the door.

Nothing happened.

Her brows drew together in mild confusion as she tried again.

There was the sound of whirling machinery going on behind the door, so she knew that he was in there, but it didn't make sense that he wouldn't open the door. Tadashi couldn't be that mad at them could he? He'd accepted Wasabi's apologize and Hiro's. Why not theirs?

"Maybe you should just try opening it?" Wasabi put in, his fingers rhythmically tapping together with a sudden jerk as his shoulders hunched up to his ears. "Maybe he just can't hear you."

Deciding that the worse thing that Tadashi could possible do was yell at her, Gogo figured that she would take her chances. Sliding the door open she was shocked to see why it was that Tadashi hadn't heard them.

He was hunched over, working on something to do with Baymax. The sound of the tool in his hand didn't seem to be anywhere loud enough to block any noise, but the ear buds that were playing music loud enough that she could hear the song clearly from where she stood would sure play a part. For a moment she didn't do anything other than stand in the doorway. Briefly she took a moment to second guess her idea to do this right now and considered maybe doing it tomorrow at a different date.

The look over her friend's face caused a chill to go down her spine. It was so void of anything other than pure rage that she felt as if he turned his attention to her right now he just might jump up and rip out her throat with his teeth. She had seen Tadashi angry at the dinner a few weeks prior, but this look right now was putting that one to shame.

She was still debating turning around and heading out when Tadashi seemed to feel their presence and turned to them. In the blink of an eye the look over his face was gone, as if it had never been there in the first place. He tilted his head slightly to the side as if he was wondering just what they were all doing there before he placed his tool down. In just a few more seconds he had turned off his music and removed the buds from his ears.

"Hey guys."

His words were soft, and guarded. It was as if he was testing the waters before he decided to swim out to deep, but Gogo couldn't really blame him for that. He had every right to be suspicious about what the whole group of them here could mean considering the fact that it never seemed to lead up to anything good as of later for him. Pushing that thought aside, Gogo confidently made her way further into the room, the rest of the group taking their Que and following in close behind.

"We wanted to talk to you."

Although she would have preferred to do this when Hiccup was here since the two were now a packaged deal apparently and making amends with Tadashi meant apologizing to Hiccup, Gogo didn't ask for his whereabouts as she placed her hip against his work bench. Tadashi on the other hand raised a brow, his skepticism buried deep in his honey brown gaze while he placed his hands on his knees.

"Okay." He muttered out, his eyes moving to take in everyone and where they stood. "What do you want to talk about?"

Gogo felt her mouth slipping open just the slightest, a few words sitting on the tip of her tongue that she than swallowed down. She couldn't help it, but had Tadashi just summed them all up? Did he think that they were all here to fight him or something and that he was going to have to defend himself? When had their relationship with him become so strained that he thought that things were down to that level?

Giving her throat a little bit of a clearing she shook the thoughts out of her head.

"We wanted to apologize to the both of you for what happened that night and how we acted."

"We're really sorry Tadashi." Honey pipped in, taking a step further into the room, her brightly painted lips pulled down into a small pout.

"Oh?" Tadashi's eyes grew wide as his whole body seemed to relax, his chair tilting back while he brought his arms up to cross over his chest.

"Ya, we're sorry for ganging up on your home boy." Fred said, his hands shoved deeply into his pockets. "He just, well, he makes me a little nervous to be honest."

Gogo had to admit that she was a little surprised that Tadashi didn't show one hint of anger at Fred's statement. Obviously he knew the effects that Hiccup had on people and could understand their reluctance.

"I knew that you guys weren't going to be very happy on meeting him." Tadashi admitted, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "Especially you Gogo." He said, giving the girl a nod as she curled her fingers into a tight fist. "But to be honest the last thing I was expecting was for you guys to attack him."

"He startled me!" Fred said quickly, putting his hands out before him in a form of defense. "He got up so quickly I thought he was going to attack us first!"

"I have to admit that he scared me too." Honey said softly as she brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "But we did push him a little bit to far."

Gogo knew for a fact that the most innocent ones in this whole thing were Fred and Honey. The two had barely said two words to Hiccup when he was there. While they hadn't been very warm or welcoming to him thanks to what they knew he had done to their friend, they defiantly hadn't been the ones to jump up and wanted to fight the guy. They had grabbed Hiro and moved to the side. It was her and Wasabi that had nearly brought the night to end in a brawl. Still she could see if Tadashi was just a little bit peeved that they had done nothing to stop it either.

"We just wanted to say that we were sorry to both you and Hiccup."

Interest perked in Gogo's eyes when the mention of the boy's name caused a slight twitch to Tadashi's features. It happened so fast that she almost missed it, but it had been there. She was sure of it. Wanting to solidify her point Gogo pushed herself away from his desk with the edge of her hip as she cocked her head to the side.

"Speaking of Hiccup where is he?" She asked, keeping her voice nonchalant and carefully taking in the others reaction.

There it was again. Something close to a grimace but not quiet.

Had they gotten into a fight or something? Was Hiccup not here since they were no longer friends and not hanging out? While that might have seemed like a wild theory, the two had been attached at the hip since the moment that they had finally decided to introduce Hiccup to the group. It was very rare to see one without the other so the fact that he wasn't here spoke loads in the silence that followed her question.

"He had something he had to do."

It seemed to be all Tadashi would say on the subject as he pushed himself out of his chair and got to his feet. Clapping his hands the smile that they all knew and loved came to his face as he looked between them all.

"I'm really glad that you guys came to me today. I'll let Hiccup know about it later and maybe we can all try to hangout again sometime." He said, the rest of the group giving him somewhat weak smiles if only to make him happy. "In the mean time though I was actually thinking of going to grab something to eat. You guys want to come with me?"

As things fell back into a normal routine the rest of the gang gave a quick nod of their heads. Tension from before they had entered the room slowly sinking away as they followed Tadashi out. Gogo on the other hand legged behind.

She wasn't quiet sure what it was, but there was something going on between those two. Something bad.

She couldn't ask for a better time to start putting her plan into action. All she had to do was put a wedge in between them. Let Tadashi know what the boy was really up to and watch as they exploded. She just needed to find out a few more things and he would be out of their lives forever.


	29. Chapter 29

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 29

Tadashi was starting to think that maybe he should be changing his project of choice for the year. Rather than making a safe, robotic nurse, he could study the effects that human emotion had on the temperature of the atmosphere. Honestly he was regretting his decision to leave his sweater at Hiccup's place right now. The way that the two were staring each other down he could almost swear that he could feel a bit of frost nipping at his fingertips.

When Gogo had come in the day before and told Tadashi that they all wanted to make amends and start to try and get along he'd been shocked over how well everything had gone over. When he'd told Hiccup later that night the auburn haired male had seemed just as surprised. Now it all made sense as to why everything had gone so smoothly yesterday.

Hiccup hadn't been there.

Sitting off to the side now Tadashi could only hope that this wasn't going to end in some sort of brawl that he would have to put an end to. Neither of them had made a move, which could have either been very bad, or very good. Either they just didn't want to startle one another or they were trying to break down the others weakness and evaluate their surroundings to see what they could use to their advantage.

Shifting his gaze from one to the other and back again he was glad that the rest of the group wasn't here to witness this. The last thing he needed was for everyone to pick sides again. This was between Hiccup and Gogo and no one else had a say in what went on between them. That being said if he thought that things were going to get out of hand Tadashi was going to be taking a step in. He knew Hiccup was on the edge about something lately, and he didn't need Gogo fanning the flames that she couldn't put out. At this rate Tadashi wasn't even sure if Hiccup would be able to control himself if she pushed to far, he was to tired, to tightly wound to stop once he got going.

But thankfully, they seemed content enough to just stare at one another from across his lab.

Gogo was the first one to break. She shifted her weight over to one foot, her gaze moving to glance out the window for a split second before they snapped back. If this had been an actual beginning to a fight Tadashi knew that Hiccup would have taken her momentary ease as an opening and would have put an end to it before it even began. He was good though, he just stayed perched on the edge of Tadashi's desk like he had been since she walked in.

"So, I'm guessing Tadashi told you what we all came to an agreement on yesterday than."

Even though her voice had been almost soft, in the silence that had ingulfed the room for the last ten or more minutes, the words sounded as if they could have been shouted in their ears.

Hiccup didn't move, his hands staying firmly wrapped around the edge of the desk on either side of his legs. Tadashi couldn't help but notice just how white his knuckles were from the tight grip around them and he was going to have to remember to try and get Hiccup to sleep a little more. This sleep deprived Hiccup was way to ready for a fight.

After a moments pause Hiccup returned his own answer. "He mentioned it, yes."

"Than I'm guessing that we're...okay with each other now." Although her body language said otherwise, Tadashi was still glad that his friend came to talk to his boyfriend.

In all honesty he'd never expected Gogo of all people to be the one who would be trying to make amends with Hiccup. In fact she was the only one of his friends who really had a true reason to never forgive him and to try and play nice. Hiccup had tortured her after all and although he didn't hold it against the guy, Tadashi himself was no saint when it came to such things, he would understand if she wanted nothing more to do with him. For her to say that she was 'okay' with him was a huge step in Tadashi's books.

Hiccup on the other hand didn't seem as convinced. His head gave the slightest amount of a tilt, his gaze narrowing as he took in the girl before him with a tight lipped frown. He didn't trust her. Tadashi could see that clearly. He was trying to break down her thoughts, see what she was thinking and what leverage that this could possibly get her. He was a suspicious person by nature, Tadashi didn't blame him for that, but he would have thought that Hiccup would have been glad to finally have forgiveness from someone that he had wronged.

"I would guess so." He said slowly, as if to watch the effects that his words had on her.

Gogo on the other hand held her ground. Giving a sharp nod of her head as her arms raised to tightly cross over her chest.

"I'm glad we could come to an agreement, only for Tadashi's behalf of course."

From the scoff that pressed passed Hiccup's lips seconds later he could tell that the boy didn't quiet believe her.

"Of course." He echoed, his hands sliding back on the table top while he rolled himself into a more comfortable position.

"Good."

The trio fell in to an awkward silence as the two shifted their eyes around the room and to different areas in the lab. Neither seemed to want to say anymore, but neither wanted to seem to leave either. While Hiccup had a reason, Tadashi knew that Gogo had her own project to work on in her part of the lab. There was really no reason for her to stay after they had made sure that they were all now on the same playing field. Even so she didn't seem to be in a big hurry to leave.

As the silence trickled on by, Tadashi could see that her presence was starting to get to Hiccup. He was starting to get a little twitchy. His fingers flexing and relaxing against the table top while his lips twitched every once and a while to form a snarl that was gone the next instant. Obviously there was something about her that Hiccup wasn't trusting. There was something about this little meeting that wasn't sitting well in his mind.

Tadashi knew that Hiccup had every right to be suspicious about someone. In his kind of life a health dose of suspicion kept him alive. But this was Gogo. Tadashi knew her. She might have talked a big game and was good with those fist of hers, bu she wouldn't secretly plot someones downfall. She was a good person at heart, and Tadashi couldn't see her ever wanting to put someone through what she had been through.

"It's been awhile since we've hung out." She said, her gaze now moving over to Tadashi while he finally snapped his attention to one person. "I think we should all go out to a club together." She suggested, "Hiccup could come too."

"In that case" Hiccup put in, drawing both of their attention to him while he gave a sharp grin to her, "we can go to the 'Dragon Den'." He said. "A friend of mine owns it and it's one of the nicest placing in all of Sansfransokyo."

Gogo narrowed her gaze at his suggestion, her whole face pinching up as if she had just come across the fresh corpse of a skunk and couldn't stomach the smell.

"I don't think so." She muttered, green and brown clashing together sharply as the two stared each other down from across the room. "Forgive me if I'm not to interested in being watched all night by your guard dogs."

Hiccup gave a low hiss at the title that she had given his friends, but he carefully stayed where he was once he took a glance over at Tadashi. Although the Asian male could understand where she was coming from, it was still a little harsh and uncalled for.

"They're good people Gogo." He supplied, "and her place is really nice, you'd like it there."

"Look." Gogo muttered, flipping her hair out of her eyes as the corner of her eye gave the slightest of twitches. "I don't want to go to a place that is involved in any kind of... whatever it is you do." She snapped. "If we're going to be hanging out I want to do so in a completely legal place."

"Good luck." Hiccup scoffed. "'legal places' is pretty much just another way of filtering in blood money and..."

"Hiccup." Tadashi sighed, rubbing his forehead with the tips of his fingers. The last thing he wanted to have happen was for them to start arguing about the morals of the business world.

Giving a low grumble Hiccup back down. "Fine." He all but snarled. "Just where would you like to go?"

"Butterfly Effect." Gogo said, a smirk coming to her lips as Hiccup gave a roll of his eyes.

"Gods that place is awful. No one knows whats going on in there and half the time all of your shit gets stolen." Hiccup muttered.

"It sounds fine." Tadashi said, smiling over at his friend as she gave a nod to him. "How about this Friday? We could all probably use a break."

"That sounds good." She agreed, giving him a real smile for the first time in months. "I'll see you than Tadashi."

This time she did leave, closing the door behind her as she went.

Tadashi felt his own smile slowly slip from his face as he turned his attention back the the auburn haired male. Hiccup had jumped down from the table, grumbling lowly to himself about something that Tadashi couldn't make out as he tinkered away on this and that with his phone.

"Are you okay with this?" He asked, hoping that he'd made the right choice as Hiccup kept his eyes glued to the screen.

"Sure." He muttered, obviously not to interested in the conversation.

With a sigh Tadashi pushed himself off of his chair and made his way over to his boyfriend. Placing his hand over Hiccup's phone screen he leaned over and gave him a soft kiss to the forehead. Hiccup tensed for a moment, even his breathing stopped and Tadashi found his worry doubling over what was really occupying the boys mind.

"Hey." He said, keeping his voice soft as he easily pulled the device out of the boy's hands and placed it on the nearby desk. "What's wrong?"

At his question Hiccup seemed to snap out of his daze. He took a step back, bringing himself out of Tadashi's reach as he gave a small shrug of his shoulders.

"Nothings wrong." He lied, his gaze unable to meet Tadashi's.

"Hiccup seriously." Tadashi said, his brows furrowing together in concern. "I'm starting to get worried. You're not sleeping, you're barely eating, and you're in constant defense mode."

"I'm fine." Hiccup snapped, flashing a mouthful of sharp teeth at the other in warning. Tadashi didn't take the wordless advice, instead he just scowled at the other.

"You are not 'fine'." He growled, placing a hand against the wall to trap the other in when Hiccup made a move to slid passed. "You haven't been 'fine' for awhile."

"So what?" Hiccup question, leaning his hip against the table and making himself comfortable. "We both know what kind of work I do. Sometimes it gets to be a little much."

"Not like this." Tadashi said as he gave a shake of his head. "You've never let it get to you like this."

"Ya well, maybe you just don't know me as well as you think you do."

That actually hurt. His chest ached at those words. His ears hurt at hearing them. He knew to a point that Hiccup was right. They had spent a long time apart from one another, Tadashi knew a lot about Hiccup, more than most, but he didn't know everything. There were still parts of Hiccup's life that he knew nothing about, parts that he didn't know if Hiccup would ever open up about. It was painful to know that as close as they were there was parts of Hiccup that still didn't trust Tadashi.

Hiccup himself appeared shocked by the words that had come out. His mouth snapped shut while his eyes went wide. When his gaze finally turned to Tadashi he didn't seem to know what to say. For a moment Tadashi thought that maybe he was going to tell him the truth, maybe he was finally going to break down and tell Tadashi what was happening, would let Tadashi help, but the very next moment the thought was gone and Hiccup had closed up once more.

"I don't want to fight with you." Hiccup said, his voice void of anything but a bone deep tiredness that had grabbed a hold of him withing seconds. "Please Tadashi. I... I'm almost finished. Please just wait a little bit longer and than I'll tell you."

Tadashi took in a deep breath. The rage was swimming just beneath the surface. The confusion and sadness were just swirling together in the pit of his stomach.

He didn't want to wait a bit longer. Waiting a bit longer in Hiccup's kind of world was deadly. Waiting in his kind of world meant the difference between seeing someone one day and than they were completely wiped from every record the next.

But he didn't want to drive Hiccup away either. He couldn't do that.

So Tadashi didn't say anything, he couldn't even look at Hiccup as he dropped his arm from the wall. For a split second he opened his mouth, unsure of what to say though he closed it again and gave a shake of his head. Turning away from him he made his way back over to his chair on the other side of the room.

Neither of them spoke as he dropped himself into his chair. Bringing his hands up to rub at his face he listened to the sound of Hiccup almost soundlessly making his way across the room. His shoulders tensed when a pair of strong hands dropped on his shoulders, and his hands came to a stand still. If Hiccup was going to say anything he didn't want to be distracted in the least.

Hiccup didn't say a word. He simply rubbed at Tadashi's shoulders, placed a kiss against the back of his neck, and slipped away.

Tadashi didn't bother looking up from the table even after he heard the door sliding shut once more.


	30. Chapter 30

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 30

If anyone would ask, Hiccup wouldn't have said that he and Tadashi were fighting. At least not exactly.

In his mind, fighting involved both parties with a sense of rage towards each other. There would be yelling, physical fighting, or mental warfare. The list of what 'fighting' could mean was endless, but even so, that's not what he would call what they had found themselves in.

For one, Hiccup knew that he wasn't mad at Tadashi. He was angry that this plan of his was taking so long sure. He was fed up with having to keep secrets and having to keep Tadashi out, but he wasn't mad at Tadashi. On the other hand, he was quite sure that Tadashi was pretty fumed with him. It was hard to spot sometimes. He was still friendly enough, he still smiled at Hiccup and cuddled with him and joked around. But there was something there. Just circling below the thin ice they'd been walking on for the past week. As every day passed, that ice only grew thinner and thinner. By now Hiccup was just waiting for it to shatter. Even so, however Tadashi had yet to snap.

Neither of them wanted a fight, but there was no doubt in either of their minds that that's what the tension was leading up to.

All in all, he supposed that Gogo's idea of going out couldn't have come at a better time. He just wished that they could have gone to Astrid's.

Sure, this place was popular, but Hiccup hadn't been lying when he had warned them that peoples stuff went missing all the time there. He'd even lost a few of his most valuable possessions, cell phone, iPod, a pair of really good shoes surprisingly. But it did have beer, and loud music. That was fine enough for right now. At least it kept them from focusing on Hiccup. Both Gogo and Tadashi seemed pretty focused on winning their drinking game so...

Hiccup's phone buzzed. He'd placed it on vibrate knowing that he wasn't going to hear anything over the loud music and that he wasn't going to be putting it down any time soon. He took a glance at the screen as he raised his beer to his lips. It was a text from Astrid. Just letting him know that they had managed to catch the guy and that Snotlout had run into yet another sign with his face. Chuckling lightly at the update he placed his drink back down and quickly wrote back a response.

"Who are you texting?" Tadashi asked, his lips pressed right up against Hiccup's ear to be heard over the loud music.

"Astrid." Hiccup responded automatically, his gaze not once moving away from his screen.

"Who's that?"

Hiccup couldn't help but raise a brow at the purple streaked girl that yelled at him over the table. If he wasn't so bothered by her strangely friendly attitude he would have been impressed by her hearing capability. He had no idea how she had heard a word he said.

"A friend." He yelled back, the feeling in his gut only getting worse at the smirk that stretched over her face.

"A girlfriend?"

Shuttering at the very idea of it Hiccup quickly shook his head. Tadashi nearly choked on his own drink once what she was implying finally caught up with him.

"Don't ask embarrassing questions Gogo." He muttered, throwing an arm around Hiccup's shoulders in a surprisingly open gesture. The action shocked the boy so much that his phone slipped from his hands, its loud clatter going unheard over the sound of the throbbing music.

While Hiccup was use to the physical level of their relationship, he was still shocked over the fact that Tadashi was being so open with it. Around his friends he had a strick rule about just how close they could get to one another. He didn't want his friends putting together the pieces and calling him out on their relationship. While Hiccup both understood and respected his boyfriend's choice sometimes he found it really annoying.

This didn't feel right either though. There was something off about the gesture itself that made it feel...empty. Like Hiccup was just another one of his friends and nothing else. Or worse, like he meant nothing.

"Hiccup here doesn't like girls." Taashi grinned, lifting his bottle to his lips and chugging the rest of it back.

Gogo's eyes went wide as Hiccup shoved Tadashi's arm from his shoulder. While he had no problem with people knowing he certainly wasn't amused by the way Tadashi was acting.

"Seriously?" Gogo asked, her face pinching together as if the idea was just to much for her to grasp. With all of the alcohol they had been throwing back Hiccup wasn't to surprised that it was taking her a moment to comprehend the situation.

He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get to it Tadashi slammed his now empty glass on the table. Letting out a satisfied gasp of air, he blinked down at the table for a moment before he lifted his gaze back up to stare at his friend.

"Seriously." Tadashi confirmed. "You can't be that surprised though Gogo. I mean just look how cute he is." Tadashi grinned, wrapping his arm around Hiccup's neck loosely as he used his other hand to pinch at his cheek. "He's the perfect bottom boy."

"Shut up Tadashi!" Hiccup snapped, using more force than he had the first time to shove the other away.

"Why so sensitive? I'm just having fun Hic." Tadashi chuckled, sloppily reaching out to ruffle the boy's hair while Hiccup ducked under his hand.

"No you're drunk!"

Hiccup didn't want to admit that those words hurt. Did Tadashi really see him as nothing more than some bottom boy? That couldn't be right. Tadashi cared about him. They watched out for each other. They were best friends. It was just the alcohol talking. Even though he knew that, it didn't make it hurt any less. Maybe it really was what Tadashi thought. Maybe he had to get drunk in order to lose enough control to let Hiccup know what he really thought about their situation.

He'd thought that going out would be a good thing for them. He didn't think that it was going to take a turn like this.

Tadashi on the other hand, gave a roll of his eyes. Without any warning he stole Hiccup's barely touched drink and chugged the rest back before Hiccup could even register what had happened.

"So what?" He finally questioned, an unsettling grin coming across his face as he leaned in close.

Hiccup's nose burned at the mixture of drinks on Tadashi's breath. Inwardly he cursed himself for not paying more attention to what his boyfriend was gulping down. He'd been so caught up in trying to balance out talking with Astrid, Krie, and Robert that he'd barely paid attention to what the other two were doing at all, much less what they were drinking.

Still, he tried to regain his personal space by taking a step back. Tadashi didn't seem to appreciate it, giving a low growl as he reached out and snatched up the boy's upper arms to keep him in place. Hiccup could barely hear Gogo's snickering from the other side of the table and he wanted so badly to snap at her to shut up, but he found his gaze fixed solely on the one who had him trapped. He had to make sure that Tadashi didn't do anything stupid. That he didn't do anything that would give away just what kind of relationship that the two had. While the slightly taller male might have found it funny right now, he certainly wouldn't be laughing tomorrow after Gogo had told everyone. Regardless of the way that he was acting and just how drunk he was, Hiccup refused to let him suffer like that because Hiccup had pushed him to it by being so secretive.

If he could only open up a little bit more. If only he could tell Tadashi what was going on, than the dark haired male wouldn't be mad at him and he wouldn't have drank so much to try and quench his rage.

As he was pulled closer Hiccup tried to pull back. If nothing else he hoped to at least get a respectful distance of space between them. Something that could pass as friends and nothing more. But Tadashi was hell bent on dragging him in closer and closer, and a drunk Tadashi with an undertone of seething rage was not one to be denied or overpowered easily. The last thing that Hiccup wanted to do as well was create a scene. If he started to struggle to hard no doubt that Tadashi at this time would do something stupid to call attention to themselves.

"You know it's true."

There was something in Tadashi's eyes that Hiccup didn't like. Something dark. Although he would refuse to admit it or show it Tadashi was actually... he was scaring him. He'd never seen Tadashi like this before. It was an eerie calm. A happy rage. He didn't know what kind of outcome to expect. He'd never seen his friend like this. Yet, Hiccup had been the one to cause it. He'd been the one to build up this wall between them and kept Tadashi from knocking it down.

It was for Tadashi's own good. If the other found out what Hiccup was doing, he wouldn't let anything stop him from getting involved and getting in-between Hiccup and what ever danger that he was facing. Hiccup couldn't let him do that though. But now he was starting to think that completely blocking the other out was a bad decision as well.

Still the grip that Tadashi had on his arms was becoming painful, he had to grit his teeth just to keep himself from lashing out at the other. That would only lead to a brawl and that was the last thing that he wanted.

"You're so adorable when you're on your back." Tadashi purred, his lips twisting up into a feral smirk that sent shivers down Hiccup's spine and made his hair stand on end. "Or your knees." He continued running one hand up the back of Hiccup's arm until it was in his hair. Hiccup let out a small gasp of pain when Asian male grasped a fistful of his hair and tighten his hold, jerking the boy's head back at an angle. Moving his free hand up, he tried to pry Tadashi's off of him, but he didn't manage to get off even one finger before Tadashi was pulling him even closer than before. "Sometimes I can't tell which is cuter. When you try to act all dominating and tough, or when you're a sluty mess under my hands."

"Go fuck yourself!"

Hiccup's outburst broke through the loud music, drawing the unwanted attention towards them. At this point he didn't care. Just one well placed shot to Tadashi's stomach had him loosening up his hold enough to slip away as he turned his back on the other and all but fled to the nearest exit. His heart clenched painfully when he could hear Tadashi's laugh follow him out.

He knew that he wasn't going to have to worry about Tadashi getting home. Gogo would make sure that he did. He also didn't have to worry about her knowing what Tadashi had said considering that he had pretty much whispered it to Hiccup, but he found that he didn't care if she had or not.

He pressed a hand to his mouth. He didn't want to cry out here, not where everyone could see him. It was getting hard to breath though, and he knew he wasn't going to make it home before he broke.

Slipping into the mouth of a deserted alley, Hiccup stumbled over to the large dumpster. Dropping to the ground, he pulled his legs up to his chest and dropped his head back against the metal object with a loud clang. He had no idea why his chest hurt so much, why those words had hurt so much. Tadashi was just drunk. People always said stupid things when they were drunk... but this...

Why did this hurt so much?

Why would Tadashi say those things? It wasn't even funny. It was as if he did it to mock Hiccup. Like he thought that the boy was weak. Like Hiccup really was nothing worth more to him than some free lay.

Tadashi was the only one who knew all sides of Hiccup. He was the only one that Hiccup would allow to see his weaknesses and his doubts. Did all of that mean nothing? It had to mean something, but...

Hiccup couldn't help but feel betrayed.

There was no reason for Tadashi to bring that kind of conversation up. If he was mad at Hiccup he could have just yelled at him. Hell, he could have hit him and Hiccup would have deserved it. They could have just fought if Tadashi was this pissed about the whole situation. He didn't have to derate Hiccup for what they did in privet together. He didn't have to take such an intimate and personal moment and make it seem like something dirty that didn't hold anymore meaning than picking someone up on the street corner.

Of course the auburn haired male wasn't stupid. He knew that Tadashi was fuming, and had been for the last few weeks, but he couldn't remember when he'd been this much of an ass when he was pissed.

Taking in a stuttering deep breath Hiccup pressed the palms of his hands against his forehead. He tried to work the words from his mind. Tried to convince himself that they were just drunk ramblings, but it didn't stop the words from spinning around his head like a song he just couldn't stop singing.

He had to calm down. He had to get himself back in order and ready for the next day. His plan was almost over. He only had to hold out for a little while longer.

That didn't mean he wasn't going to demand Tadashi for an apology though, and that he wasn't going to be pissed about the situation later. For now, however this really needed his full attention. If even one thing was to go wrong, it might end up dragging Tadashi right into the middle of it, and that was the last thing he wanted, even now.

Running one hand down his face, he blinked until his vision cleared. For a moment he did nothing, just stared at the wall on the other end of the alley until he was sure that he had a firm hold on his emotions. He didn't become the top of the underworld by wearing his feelings on his sleeve. They were better to be hidden. It was much harder for people to use them against you that way.

Slowly he rocked himself onto his feet. As he straightened up to his full height, he rolled his shoulders back and set his jaw into a hard line.

He didn't have time to be upset over this, at least not right now. He would have time for that later. For now, he had work to do.

Reaching into his pocket for his phone Hiccup froze when he realized that he didn't have it anymore. It took him a moment to remember that he had accidently dropped it during his and Tadashi's episode. He knew that there was no way that he was going to be able to get it back. The place had been packed and he was sure that the moment that he and the others had taken their eyes off of it and had been distracted that someone had scooped it up.

That wasn't good.

Thankfully, he could lock it and he had a gps on it as well. The unfortunate thing however was that he could only do that at his home. Not wasting anymore time he turned back to the mouth of the alley and took off down the street.

(***)

"Hey, where'd Hiccup go?"

Gogo rolled her eyes as Tadashi asked the question for the billionth time. Although she was paying attention enough to make sure that he didn't wander away and get mugged by someone most of her attention was on the device in her hands. Ever since Hiccup had stormed off after, what Gogo was going to say was, a really fucking weird event, she had all to easily snatched his phone and started to go through all of the information. She had no idea what Tadashi had said to the other, but she imagined that it wasn't anything she wanted to hear anyways. Not from the way that Tadashi was watching him and holding him. The way his eyes had followed after Hiccup as he left was enough to make her blush.

She was going to have to nip this thing in the butt now if she wanted to make sure that Tadashi didn't make a move on the rat. The last thing she wanted to have happen would be for Tadashi to start dating the guy.

"Gogo have you seen Hiccup?"

"No." She mumbled, keeping her arm firmly wrapped around his as he tried to pull away.

"We should go look for him." Tadashi continued. "What if he got hurt. Oh no. You don't think someone tried to kidnap him do you?" At the sound of the strong concern in his tone Gogo had to bite down on the inside of her cheek. She highly doubted that, that asshole wouldn't be able to hold his own, if anyone tried such a stupid act. Although that didn't stop her from wishing it could happen.

"I'm sure he's fine." Gogo said, quickly opening up his messages.

In his top three slots were two very familiar names and one that she hadn't heard until earlier this evening.

Alistair Krei, Robert Callaghan, and Astrid Hofferson.

She had no idea what their professor could want with a crime lord, but as she opened the texts she found herself becoming very disturbed. From what she could gather from her quick scan, the two were working together. Even worse it seemed to be that they were working on some type of military device that could end up killing millions of people.

Feeling her stomach drop in a mix of horror and disgust she quickly backed out and opened up Krei's file.

These messages seemed to be more hostile, it was obvious that just from reading a few of them the two didn't get along. She guessed that was a good sign. It could mean that Krei was an ally and hated Hiccup just as much. If that was true, she couldn't figure out just why they were working together, but she pushed it from the back of her mind as she tried to gather as much information as she could.

No doubt that Hiccup had noticed that his phone was missing and she wouldn't put it past the guy to be able to wipe the whole thing. Sure, it seemed like that might be a paranoid thing to do, but considering the life the guy lead she figured it was going to be pretty standard.

"Hey Gogo." Tadashi said, still slightly wobbly on his feet as they continue to walk down the street to his home. "I know Hiccup's gonna make it home okay."

"That's great." She deadpanned, her attention more focused on the phone than her friend's words.

"Ya. He's a strong guy." Tadashi grinned, his head tilted back to look up at the sky. "He's smart, and funny, and cute, and he really cares about people."

She took a moment to pause as her gaze cooly drifted over to her friend.

"Did you know that he built a dragon?" Tadashi continued dropping his head back down to grin at the street before them.

Maybe she had made him drink to much. She could tell that there was something going on between the two boys. There was some type of unspoken tension around them that she just wanted to throw gasoline on and then light a match for. She'd been hoping that by getting one of them drunk, Tadashi being the default since Hiccup didn't seem to trust her enough to allow for an alcohol slowed mind, she could push them into an argument. Although her theory hadn't been wrong, she might have gone a little overboard. It seemed that only a few minutes after Hiccup had left Tadashi had forgotten whatever it was he had said to the other and was pleasantly waiting for him to return. If he couldn't even remember that she didn't want to know just how bad his head would be hurting in the morning.

"No." Turning back to the messages she found herself becoming confused over what she was reading.

There were all these meeting placements and files that she couldn't open as well as some pictures that she couldn't put together. Some of Krei's messages as well were a little creepy, but from the way that Hiccup reacted to them, she could tell that he did it solely to disturb the other. What she couldn't figure out was why the two were even working together if Hiccup obviously hated the man. As she clicked out and moved onto the Astrid girl's messages she went over them quickly.

As she continued to read over the messages her lips twisted into a vile smirk as some pieces finally slotted together.

Although she had no idea what Krei and Hiccup were up to it was becoming obvious about why the boy was working with him. According to the messages between Hiccup and the blond chick, who Gogo was sourly admitting looked absolutely gorgeous, he was going to betray Krei.

Although some people didn't agree with Krei's way of doing things Gogo had never had a problem with the man. And if Hiccup thought it was a good idea to go behind his back and try to screw him out of something than she felt it was only the right thing to do to let the man know.

Just as she went to scroll down the screen again the phone suddenly let out a screech. Startled, she dropped the object, not moving fast enough to catch it before it smashed into the ground. The screen went white, blinking rapidly before it turned black and than nothing. Cautiously, she stared down at it. Waiting for just a moment longer she slowly bent down and scooped it up. When she tried to turn it on again, nothing happened. Frowning at the fried device in her hands, she tossed it to the side and continued on her walk to Tadashi's house.

She'd been right. He destroyed the information. But that was okay. She already had everything that she needed.

"I think I want to marry him."

With no distraction and at the utterly disturbing words of her friend, Gogo whipped her head around to face the goofy smile of the one at her side.

"He makes me so happy. Do you think he'd say yes?"

Feeling her stomach roll in disgust Gogo forced herself to pat his arm.

"Sure."

Her simple answer was apparently enough for Tadashi to let out a happy squeal of a noise that grated on her nerves, but she didn't allow it to slow her down. It's not like she was going to let that happen anyways. She would tell Krei what Hiccup was up to. She would allow him to throw the guy in jail and then Tadashi would forget about this whole thing and Hiccup would get what he deserved. The group would be back together and life would go on as if nothing had happened.

She just had to wait until she could make a phone call.


	31. Chapter 31

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 31

By the time that Tadashi woke up the next morning he wished that he was dead instead. His head was pounding and his stomach was rolling with the need to hurl. Opening his eyes only made it that much worse and he barely rolled over to the side of his bed before he threw up into a trash can that had been placed by his bed.

With a loud groan, he rolled over and placed his hands over his eyes. Really he had no right to pity himself, he knew his drinking limit and he'd gone way passed it, but ugh.

"How you feelin'?"

Instead of a full verbal sentence all Tadashi could get out was a groan. He couldn't even peel his eyes open to look at his brother, but let out a thankful sigh when he felt a cool cloth being placed over his forehead.

Although he could feel Hiro still standing next to him, he found it unsettling that the boy had yet to say anything else. With a huge effort on his part he crack open a single eye and stared at his baby brother.

Hiro's brows were furrowed, and his eyes looked almost... dissapointed? His teeth worried at his bottom lip and his hands were shoved deeply into the pockets of his cargo shorts. This wasn't a look he was use to seeing on his brother and seeing it now had Tadashi pushing back the feeling of his own sickness in order to try and find out what was bothering the boy.

As he forced himself to sit up he let out another groan, leaning heavily against the headboard as his vision spun and his gut clenched. Swallowing down the nauseated feeling he licked at his dry lips before finally turning his full attention to Hiro.

"What's wrong?" Never one to beat around the bush, he went straight for the obvious. It seemed that Hiro wasn't too interested in avoiding the question as he let out a small huff and gave a sudden jerk of his shoulders.

"I'm just... What happened last night?" He questioned, the concern over his face not an emotion that the older male was use to seeing on the boy.

"What do you mean?" Tadashi asked back, wondering how they were going to get anywhere if they were only asking more questions rather than answering them.

"Hiccup was here this morning," Hiro said, taking a seat on his brother's bed and pushing away the trash can with his toe, "he seemed super pissed." Hiro continued while he swung his feet back and forth, the vibrations of his heels hitting the bed doing little to ease Tadashi's rolling stomach. "But he set up some stuff for you anyways." With that Hiro nodded his head over to the side table where there was a bowl of water with some ice cubes in it where Hiro had obviously gotten the cloth. Next to that was a cup and two extra strength pain killers. Tadashi was going to assume that he was the one that had placed the bucket there as well. "He barely said two words to Aunt Cass and when I tried to make a joke about last night he just... well, a really scary look came over his face."

Raising his brow in question Tadashi tried to think about to what had happend.

"He just told me to tell you to go fuck yourself when you woke up and that he would be busy for the next couple of days so there would be no point in trying to get ahold of him."

Normally Tadashi would have scolded his brother for such language, but he was in such shock over the message that Hiccup had left behind for him that it barely even crossed his mind.

Just what had Tadashi said or done last night to piss his boyfriend off that much? Did he really have something to do or was it just an excuse so that he wouldn't have to talk to him? After his first few shots with Gogo he couldn't remember much. Sure he remembered being pissed at Hiccup for all the sneaking around he'd been doing lately, but he didn't think that he had actually acted on that anger. If he had though what could he have possibly done? If they got into a fist fight Tadashi knew he would feel it. Hiccup didn't pull punches for anyone and he certainly wouldn't do so for Tadashi, drunk or not. Maybe he had yelled at him? Again, however Hiccup wasn't one to be offended so easily and certainly would have stayed here if it was something as simple as that.

Unsure of what to say he nudged at his brother's hip with his foot, nodding to his jacket that rested on the back of the chair from the night before.

"Can you grab that for me?"

Not without a long suffering sigh did Hiro jump down from the bed and padded his way over to the other side of the room. While he was doing that Tadashi turned to the medicine on the table top and greedily swallowed it down with a huge swing of water. He could feel the cool kiss of the liquid all the way down in his stomach, but he ignored it as he placed the now empty glass on the night stand. The pills without food only seemed to unsettle his stomach more but he figured that he could just wait it out. He was already feeling a little bit better as Hiro came back and flopped back on the bed.

"Here." He muttered, throwing the item at Tadashi, a small snicker escaping his lips when the item hit his older brother in the face.

Giving a small glare to the boy Tadashi than turned his attention to his jacket and quickly searched through his pockets. As his fingers came in contact with a smooth object he made quick work of freeing it from its pocket prison and sliding it open.

Hey, know you said that you'd be busy but I'm sorry. I don't remember what happened last night but it must have really pissed you off and I just want to apologize for that.

Sending the message he than opened up his chat with Gogo. Seeing as how she hadn't messaged him anything since yesterday morning he wondered if maybe she knew what had went down.

Can you tell me what happened last night?

It was simple, short and sweet. Gogo had been the only other one there and Tadahi was sure she'd be the only one to be able to tell him what had happened.

Just as he was about to put his phone down it buzzed, letting him know that one of them had gotten a hold of him. When he opened it he found his small smile fading as he read over the message while his brows crept closer to the middle of his forehead.

Message not sent. Number has been deactivated.

Deactivated? What? When would Hiccup do that? Why would he do that? It didn't sound like something that he would do. Was this just another plan of his? Was this just another idea to further separate Tadashi from his other life? Had he seriously just cut him out of it?

Confused on whether he was jumping to conclusions or if he was on the right thought track Tadashi placed the item on his night table.

"So, that's not a good face." Hiro said, stretching out the vowel of the first word as he resumed his kicking. "And I'm guessing that you don't remember much?"

"Nothing." Tadashi admitted while his hand came up to rub at his forehead. "Who even brought me home last night?"

"Gogo." Hiro said simply. "It was weird though, you were trying to break away from her and look for Hiccup. You were saying something about wanting to propose and that you needed to do that right now."

"What?" Tadashi could feel the blood draining from his face as Hiro gave a light shrug of his shoulders.

"Ya, you were being really loud, actually woke up me and Aunt Cass, and now that I think of it maybe the whole block."

"Oh my god."

"Ya." Hiro mumbled somewhat awkwardly. "So does that mean that Gogo knows now or...?"

Tadashi brought his hand down over his mouth as he closed his eyes tightly. Was that why Hiccup was so pissed? Had Tadashi done something to him when they were around Gogo? Had he said something to him? That couldn't be it though... Hiccup was the one who didn't care who knew or not, it had always been Tadashi. He'd been the one to tell the boy to keep it a secret since he didn't want his friends to leave him. He was the one who hid his relationship with Hiccup like he was some dirty little secret, just like when he'd first started hanging out with him again. Now that he thought about it keeping that information from his friends had backfired badly on him. Why did he think this was going to be any different this time if it was the same thing?

Moving his hand from his mouth Tadashi dropped it in his lap. "I have no idea."

What happens if he'd said something really mean to Hiccup? What if he had tried to molest him or something? Shit, even if they were dating he could still freaking assault his boyfriend. Had he done that? Is that why Hiccup was so pissed? Is that why he'd gotten rid of his phone?

Was he going to come back?

His phone buzzed loudly against the table, startling both of the brother's in their silent thoughts. With a frown on his lips and a twist in his gut Tadashi reached out for it. When he got a look of the number he was both equally parts relieved and disappointed to see that it was Gogo's number.

Didn't think u would remember. I'll be right over.

Although he wasn't really feeling up to having any company at the moment, other than his brother that is, Tadashi didn't have the heart to refuse her. Especially since she seemed to remember everything from last night and he wouldn't mind knowing himself just what had happened.

Sending back a quick response he let out a long sigh and dropped his head back. He found it strangely odd that Hiro had barely said anything this morning. While he could understand his brother's confession Hiro was never this quiet when he wanted to know something. Obviously he wanted to know what had happened last night just as badly as Tadashi did. It wasn't like him to leave his brother alone even if he did know that Tadashi himself had no idea. Hiccup must have been really off to make Hiro this silent. The observation only made Tadashi feel worse.

"You know I didn't like Hiccup at first." Hiro said, tucking his hands under his legs as he spoke. "I mean he's okay now but I didn't get why you wanted to hangout with him. Not gonna lie, I was a little disappointed when I found out you were dating. But-" His mumbled voice got louder when Tadashi went to say something in the auburn haired male's defense. "Actually seeing you two together and getting to know him a bit more I can't help but like him, and I can see how you guys work."

The more Hiro spoke the more Tadashi wondered just where his brother was going with this. At the sound of the door opening up downstairs, he hopped off the bed once more and turned to face his brother.

"I just don't want to see anything bad happen, to either of you."

Smiling at his brother's sweet words Tadashi leaned up and ruffled the fluffy black mess that Hiro called his hair.

"Thanks little bro."

Giving him a small smile Hiro waited until Gogo had climbed the stairs to their room before he made his leave. Although he didn't have to go when the girl arrived Tadashi still appreciated the privacy.

"Hey Gogo."

Although the pain medication was starting to kick in Tadashi still wasn't feeling up to getting on his feet to greet the girl properly. Gogo didn't seem to mind, simply stealing the chair of the computer and rolling it up to Tadashi's bed. As he watched her he became a little unnerved by the fact that he couldn't read the exspression on her face. She was blank, more so than usual and it was setting him a little on edge. Just how much did she know now and what had he done or shown her?

The first four words out of her mouth were the last words that he wanted to hear.

"We need to talk."

(***)

Tadashi looked like shit.

Not that the idea should have surprised her. He had drunk way to much last night no thanks to her persuading him, but seeing him now just... wow.

His eyes were bloodshot and appeared to be struggling to stay open. His skin was a weird sort of chalky pale and her nose twitched at the smell that lazily drifted up from the wastebasket next to the head of his bed.

Pushing all of that to the back, however she crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned back in the chair.

He didn't appear shocked by what she had said. Simply sighing as he closed his eyes for a moment, collecting himself before he opened them again.

"Alright." He agreed, shifting on the bed before he settled again. "Can I just ask though, what did happen last night?"

"How much do you remember?"

"Up to the drinking contest, not much after that." He admitted sheepishly.

Gogo said nothing in the time that passed. Briefly, she wondered if there was anyway that she could twist the events around to better suit her situation but quickly thought against it. If Tadashi heard from Hiccup about a different way that the night went down he didn't doubt that he would take her word over hers.

"Well, after our competition, you beat me by the way, Hiccup was on his phone a lot talking to some girl. I asked if she was a girlfriend, you told me he was gay, he got angry, you said something I couldn't hear, he stormed off, we drank and danced some more, and than you spent the whole walk back to your place worried someone was going to kidnap him, and than you wouldn't stop talking about what a great guy he was and how you wanted to marry him."

A bright red blush came to Tadashi's face as he dropped his head in his hands with a groan. Deciding to feel a little pity for the guy Gogo blow a piece of hair out of her eyes before she spoke again.

"Don't worry. The guy is hot. It's natural for people to be attracted to him."

Something about her words seemed to do little to comfort him as an odd sounding scoff blew passed his lips.

"That's not what I wanted to talk about though Tadashi." Gogo said, leaning forward in her chair and waiting until he finally dropped his hands from his face. "I think we should talk about Hiccup."

The sudden blank face that overcame his features startled her for a moment. There was a subtle shift in his eyes, as if he was already covered up what he had to say about the other without words. She found it harder to keep her own face just as equally blank while her hands tightened against her arms.

"I thought we were passed this."

His voice was such a weird empty void that just the sound of it set her on edge as she swallowed passed the sudden lump in her throat.

"Just hear me out." She mumbled, her words quiet, fearing that if she spoke to loudly it would set him off. "I can see that you obviously have a very strong connection with Hiccup, but how much do you know about him?"

Tadashi pretty much bristled at her implications. "A lot more than you do."

"Really?" Gogo didn't allow his hiss to turn her off her path as she continued forward. "So you know that him and Professor Callahan are making a military weapon together that could kill thousands, if not millions of people?"

Although Tadashi's eyes narrowed, she could see the corners of his lips twitching in a well concealed snarl.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes I do." She confirmed, although she could tell by the look in his eyes that Tadashi was the one who had no idea.

"Gogo just stop."

"I saw all of the messages last night Tadashi." Ignoring his command she pressed forward.

"'Saw his messages'? Gogo, did you take his phone?" Tadashi asked, his face twisting up in disgust over the very fact.

She scowled as Tadashi completely overlooked what she had said.

"That's not the point Tadashi."

"Wait a second." Pushing himself forward she watched as his face turned green for just a moment before he managed to shake himself out of it. "Did you invite us out so that you could steal his phone? Did you perpously get me drunk so that I wouldn't notice?"

Well, when he said it like that, it sounded really bad.

"Hiccup's been talking to Krei as well," She continued, but Tadashi gave a shake of his head as he waved his hand out before himself.

"No, no. Stop." He mumbled, his head tilted downward as he threw his feet over the side of the bed. "I don't want to hear it."

"Tadashi you can't be that blind!"

Gogo snapped.

Jumping to her feet as he rose to his her hands were tightly rolled into fist, shaking with the effort to control her rage.

"He's a monster! He's going to destroy your life! Why wouldn't you just..!"

"Because I know him!" Tadashi screamed back, the snarl over his face only making the girl more defensive.

"So you think that you could live with yourself knowing that he's placing millions of people in danger?"

She could see the mucels in his jaw feathering with how tightly it was being held. For a horrifing moment she wondered just which of the two of them would win in a fight.

Giving another shake of his head Tadashi couldn't look at her anymore. His gaze was turned to the side, his lips pulled back to show his teeth off in a snarl as he continued.

"Hiccup wouldn't do that. He's not that kind of person. He told me that he didn't have anything to do with weapons, and I believe him."

Throwing her hand up Gogo just about wanted to strangle the man in front of her.

"What do I have to do to make you see this guy for what he really is!?"

A deathing silence followed. It was thick and heavy, pressing on their shoulders and pressing in the walls around them. It came to Gogo's notice to late that neither of them was going to back down. Tadashi wouldn't turn on Hiccup and she would never accept him. Confronting him was only going to lead them to a standstill and wasn't going to get her anywhere.

"Gogo," His voice was low, dark and soothing all at once as his sharp brown eyes locked with hers, "please get out."

There was nothing else she could say. There was nothing else for her to do. At least not to Tadashi. He wasn't going to listen to her. He wasn't going to turn on the other male until he could finally have his eyes opened to the situation. It was like he was drowning without realizing it. He wasn't going to realize just how bad it was until she pulled him out so that he could breath.

Without another word she turned and left the house.


	32. Chapter 32

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 32

Krei was rather shocked when he walked into his office to see Hiccup sitting in his chair. The boy looked moody, which, while it was a normal occurance when he was in Krei's company, looked more broody than usawl.

After taking a few seconds to get over his innitial shock he ignored the boy, going about his daily rutiune of placing his suitcase where he liked and strightening out a few things he'd never gotten the chance to last night. Only once he had finished up did he finally turn to the child who hadn't so much as glanced over in his direction thus far.

"Although I am always delighted by your presence," he started, his lips curling up into a wolf of a grin as the boy finally brought their gazes to lock with each other, "may I ask why you thought it would be approprite to show up at my work without first being called?"

Hiccup pushed himself off of the chair as a scowl crawled across his face. "I'm not your dog Krie." He hissed. "I can't always inform you of all of my actions and where or when I'm going to show up."

With a light hum Krei gave the slightest nods of his head. He would allow the boy to continue thinking that, but he was well aware that it wasn't true. All he would have to do was say jump and Hiccup would do it. He had to many weakness, to many people to be used against him. He wasn't as untouchable as he liked to think, but uness the child was going to give him a real reason to crush him Krei saw nothing wrong with leaving him with a little fire.

"What is it that you want?"

There was no reason for Hiccup to show up at his office. All of their cominucation was done over the phone. If someone were to ever catch them meeting together than it would give him nothing but trouble. The last thing he wanted to be trying to exsplain to a board of director why he was consorting with a known fellon. Exspesially with one that wasn't even supposed to be in the city.

Hiccup obviously had no intention of staying longer than he had to as he stood stiffly before the man.

"Someone stole my phone last night. I had to kill the device so you won't be able to get a hold of me until I get a new one."

A frown pulled at the corner of his lips. The idea of not knowing just where Hiccup was and not being able to get in contact with him in seconds just left him to much freedom. How was Hiccup supposed to remember who he was working for if Krei wasn't the one constiantly reminding him? He'd already let the boy have enough freedom as it was, and the last timehe'd given him this much freedom it hadn't ended well. Why, the boy had lost his leg for goodness sake.

"Well, I suggest that you get the problem fixed as soon as possible." He said, his eyes taking in the boy with mild intrest.

"Obviously." Hiccup growled, shoving passed Krei roughly.

Before he could make it more than a few steps Krei reached back and grapped the boy's arm. Yanking Hiccup back to stand before him they both silently met each other glare for glare.

"Do not test me boy." He warned, his voice low and on the edge of a hiss. "It would not be beneath me to get you a collar and keep you on a shorter leash."

Not seeming to take his threat seriously Hiccup merely smirked back up at him. "I didn't think there was anything that was beneth you."

Feeling a flash of anger at the insult Krei tightened his hold on the boy's arm. Although Hiccup carefully kept his face from reacting there was the slightest hint of pain buried in his eyes that made the corners of Krie lips twitch up into a smirk of his own.

There had been countless times, mostly when he was at home and finally left alone, that he would think of all the things that he could do to the young male before him. He had dreams about wrapping his hands around his throat, watching his face turn blue as he gasped for air. Beating on him until Hiccup was begging for him to stop. Smashing his bones to nothing but splinters. Trailing a knife all over his body, cutting him open and watching the blood spill out of him like a pretty little waterfall. Seeing the fire in his eyes finally dim until they were snuffed out.

These were the imagies of his sweetest dreams. Ever since he'd first smashed Hiccup's leg to bits and pieces, ever since he'd cut it right off here in his office, he'd wanting nothing more than to finish taking the boy apart.

There was just something in the way that the boy moved, something about hearing the sound of pain in his voice that stroked at Krei's sadistic nature. Something in the look in his eyes that had Krei growling with the need to destroy it.

But Hiccup had his uses, and Krei fully intended to use up as much as he could until there was nothing left. Destroying the child now would only mean more work for him in the long run.

"You could be beneth me very easily." He purred, pulling the boy closer while pushing all other thoughts aside. "And I bet you'd like it just fine."

Hiccup riped his arm away, taking a few steps back to distance them, his glare never once easing up. Krei almost bursted out in laughter over the look on his face. It was just to easy to play with this kid.

"Fuck off." Hiccup snarled, this time giving the other a wide birth as he moved around him.

"Ah, right." Krei hummed, not quiet done with the other as he slowly turned around to face the boy again. "I suppose that would be Tadashi's job hm?"

This time Hiccup didn't even give him a response. He just threw his door open and stormed out.

Krei's laugher followed him the whole way.

(***)

After his little morning meeting with Hiccup, nothing else of intrest had really been going on.

He'd had a few meetings here and there, no one really had anything new to tell him, or had anything that perked his intrested, but he suposed that was a good sign. Krei wasn't really one for surprises, exspecially if they were about his business. He liked to be aware of what was going on in it constantly and he normally already knew anything that his men brought to his attention. Still, although that made the meetings rather dull and long winded, at least it made sure that everything was looked at throuwly.

It had felt like a rather long day though, a few times he even found himself picking up his phone to try and irriate his favorite pet. Than he would remember that the boy didn't have one yet and that the message would never reach anyone.

Now he was just sitting at his desk, looking over some papers that he needed to sign before they were allowed to move on to the next assignment. The silence of his office was thick, but he found comfort in it as he flipped through another page. He only had a few more things to look over and than he was going to be done for the day. He wanted to check up on his own group of feild workers and see how far they had managed to get with the information that Hiccup had given him. Although now that he was thinking about it the boy wasn't giving him very much, he wasn't sure just what his men could do with what little they were given. He couldn't hand them a bundle of sticks and ask for a mansion. He was going to have to start coming out with punishments for Hiccup's slow deliveries. The boy was a genious. There's no way it was taking him this long t get what Krei was asking for. Than again however he had mentioned it was still in its trial stages, maybe he was working out the bugs before handing the information over.

Somehow Krei didn't think that was the case.

A low beep from his phone drew his attention away from his papers and thought and towards the sleek device on his desk. With a small sigh he reached out and pressed his finger down on the silver button.

"Speak Heather."

"Mr. Krei I am sorry to inturupt you, but there is a girl here who is most insistant to speak to you." The young womans voice shattered his oasios of silence before she continued. "She says it has to do with an assignment named 'Fury'."

At this Krei raised a single brow. Fury? Well, wasn't that intresting. No one other than Krei himself knew that the boy was involved, how could it be that this 'girl' did? More importantly however, what did she want?

"Let her in."

Sitting back while he wait the few miutes it would take for her to get here Krei soundlessly tapped his fingers against each other. He couldn't wait to see just what she thought she knew. If this proved to be fruitless and some form of blackmail attempt he was going to have to find a nice place to bump her body. Thankfully he already had a few ideas. There were some places he hadn't used in quite a while, it would take the police to find her after a missing persons report went through. By the time they would find her any evidance would arleady be stripped away from her body. Along with the fleash from her bones.

She better have been offering something great if she was hoping on living to see the next few hours.

Hiccup was a hard to find item. He wasn't going to lose him thanks to the nosiness of some girl.

"Mr. Krei, this is Ethel Tomago. Heather said as she pushed open the door to his office.

Carefully Krei eyed the young girl. She couldn't have been any older than her earily twenties. Large eyes and a full round face gave her a very pretty look upon first glance, but from the sharp gaze of her eyes and the way she was already picking things apart he could see there was much more to her than looks.

Slowly he found a smirk curling at the corners of his lips while he cecesed in his tapping and lowered the tips of his fingers to press at his lips.

"Thank you Heather." He said, his voice smooth while it rolled into the area like a soft band of silk. "I'll take it from here."

As the door slid closed he continued to watch while Ethel caousiously made her way deeper into his den. Her whole body was tense, like a cobra rigth before the attack, but he could see that she was also trying to force herself to relax. He couldn't help but smirk at her attempts to seem calm.

"Please sit, make yourself comfortable." leaning forward in his chair he made a small guester to one of the seats that sat before his desk. "You wanted to talk to me about the 'Fury Assigment'?"

At his mocking tone her gaze narrowed. Her lips stayed tightly sealed however as she made her way to one of the plush chairs before him. When she sat down she perched herself on the edge and Krei had to admire her parinoa that was keeping her ready to bolt.

"I'm assuming that you know what I' really talking about."

At the sound of her voice he found himself slightly surprised. He'd ben exspecting it to be higher, more childish, not as womenly as it had come out.

Tossing away his thoughts on such a useless fact however he gave a nod of his head.

"If it involves a green eyed demon than yes, I believe that I know just what you're refurring to." He confirmed, her body seeming to relaxe just the slightest bit as her hands loosened from the white knuckled fists that they were in.

"Good." She said, givnig a stern nod of her head. "Than you will be very intrested in the information I have."

He better be. If he wasn't she would soon know that Fury wasn't the only demon around, nor the most dangoures.

"It has come to my attention that Hiccup is looking to betray you."

Slowly, Krei's calm deminor fell away. Although he kept the rage of the accusation from his gaze, he could no longer hold the smile on his face. Neither of them said anything more. They simply stared at one another from across the large solid desk. Watching and waiting, looking to find a weakness or any hint of deseption. Although he could feel the waves of rage rolling off the girl with such a blistering heat that he could feel it against his own skin, he couldn't find anything across her face that would give even the slightest hint of a lie.

"Where might you have aquired this information?"

"From the very sorce himself. I managed to get a hold of his phone and saw while going through his messages to a friend of his, that he was planning on turning on you."

Ah, so she must have been the reason that Hiccup's phone had gone missing. It seemed odd that a girl like her would be able to snatch anything from him. Krei would have thought that he would have been keeping a closer eye on someone like her.

But her information was fine enough he supposed. She could keep her life. Not that she ever had to know that it was ever in danger.

This also exsplained a lot about the reason that Hiccup was acting a little off.

That little snake...

"Hm," with a small hum he dropped his gaze to the glossy top as he thought for a moment. "I see."

It seemed that she had a brian in her head as she remained silent at his statement.

With a long sigh he stood from his chair and folded his arms behind his back.

"I thank you Mis. Tomago. I am glad that you brought this to my attention."

"Yo're going to turn him over to the athorities right?" She stood as well while she asked her question.

Alright, maybe she wasn't so smart.

He couldn't stop the soft chuckle that drifted up from deeply within his chest as he hearded her back towards the front of his office.

"Of course."

He would tell the police just where they could find the remains of Hiccup's body by the time he was done with him. It seemed to be that he was going to be able to have his dreams come true. Maybe he didn't have to kill Hiccup though. Maybe he was just going to have to break the boy. Damage him beyond his ability to repaire. He'd been to light on him the last time. He wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

Than again however, that other child was looking like a promising canadite for working in his tech department. Sure the kid had said no the first time but Krie could be more... persvasive if need be.

"I will personally make sure that he never sees the light of day again. You have my word."

Her lips pressed tightly together and her eyes narrowed at his words. But she still didn't say anything. If she was suspisuois about what his real plans were, obviously she didn't care as long as he took care of Hiccup.

Just what had he done to her to piss her off so much?

Deciding that he didn't care Krei opened his door for her to step though.

"Now if you wouldn't mind I do need to make a few calls."

As he closed the door to his office he stiffly made his way back to his desk. He was done with paper work for the night. He had some more intresting matters to attend to.


	33. Chapter 33

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 33

"Have you still not heard from him?"

Tadashi let out a sigh as he tore his gaze away from the window reluctantly. Placing his chin against his fist he looked over at his little brother with a small frown settled over his face. Hiro was standing in his doorway, his hands shoved deeply into the pockets of his shorts and his lips pinched with concern. He really couldn't tell who Hiro was more worried about, his older brother or his boyfriend. He found it to be fascinating how much the boy had grown attached to the other in the time they had known one another.

"No." Admitting that out loud was a lot harder than he thought that it should have been. The word nearly didn't make it passed the knot in his throat that was choking him with such force it created a dull ache. "I haven't heard a word."

Or paid attention in any of his classes, or done any of his assignments, or worked on Baymax, or eaten, or slept. He hadn't done much of anything since the last time he had seen Hiccup.

When he'd grown desperate he'd sent a quick text to Astrid, asking her about how the other was doing, but she had told him that Hiccup was to busy to hangout with them lately. He wasn't sure whether to feel better or worse about the fact that, apparently, Hiccup was keeping information hidden from not only Tadashi, but his own group as well.

"It's been three days." Hiro muttered, inviting himself into the room so that he could stand next to his brother. "You don't think he could still be mad do you?"

Tadashi shrugged. "I don't know Hiro. I have no idea what happened so I have no idea just how mad he is." He said, watching as a group of students made their way across campus. "Besides, he said that he was just trying to finish something up. He could just be working on that."

It was probably bullshit. It probably wasn't true at all. That didn't stop a small portion of Tadashi from believing it however and it was something he was going to hold onto.

"You don't think..."

Tadashi turned back to his brother as Hiro trailed off. The boy was nursing his bottom lip, his gaze locked on the blueprints that Tadashi had hung up on his corkboard. "You don't think that something could have... could have happened to him do you?"

His stomach dropped like a stone at the very thought.

Hiccup did have countless enemies. What if Hiro was right? What if something had happened to him and he was in need of Tadashi's help? Hiccup was strong but he wasn't invincible. He'd been working on some weird stuff lately too. Something that he hadn't, no, something that he wouldn't tell Tadashi about. What if that had gotten him into trouble? While the thought had crossed his mind more than once, being faced with it as a reality now was a whole new level.

If anyone tried to hurt Hiccup... Tadashi had no idea just what he would do, and that scared him.

"You know what," Hiro said a moment later, giving a shake of his head as a forced smile made its way to his lips, "I'm sure that he's fine. Maybe the guy just holds grudges. He'll come back around eventually."

It was obvious that Hiro was just trying to make him feel better, that he was just trying to give his brother a reason to not start freaking out. It was much to late for that though. Tadashi could already feel the sweat on his brow as he sat there, his attention turning to the window again but yet, not seeing anything.

"Ya, I'm sure that Hiccup's fine."

His tone was flat. His words were dead. They sat in the air like a weight, pressing down on both of the boy's with such finality that it nearly crushed them both.

(***)

Hiccup tapped his pencil against the paper as he looked over the sketch that he'd done up. The version that he'd made was just slightly different from Roberts. It wasn't so much that Krie would be able to tell he was bluffing, and it wasn't enough for his workers to be able to build it, but it was enough to make sure it would never work. He'd also made sure that the changes were confusing enough that they would never have a hope at figuring out what to change even if they did know that something was wrong.

Popping the wooden item into his mouth he reached back and rubbed the kink out of the base of his neck. After the first few hours or day he lost track of how much time had passed. He really had no idea just how long he'd been sitting there for working on this one page but by the gods if it wasn't making him stiff.

"Allow me."

Hiccup jumped violently when the voice ghosted by his ear and a pair of large, strong hands landed on his shoulders. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and his whole body went ridged in the others hold. He could feel the strength in the hands on his shoulders as they massaged the skin but it did nothing to help the tension, in fact it only made it so much worse. Keeping his gaze forward he prayed to god that Krei wouldn't look down. That he wouldn't look at just what Hiccup was working on. While the blueprints looked the same with them both sitting next to each other it would be easy enough to spot out the differences. He was so close now, he couldn't trip right at the finish line. What was Krei even doing here anyways? He hated Hiccup's house. It was to dirty and small for him.

As Krei shifted forward, his head moving passed Hiccup's shoulder to look down at what the boy had been working on he could feel his heart jumping into his mouth. Without thinking about it he shoved Krei away and got to his feet. With Krei now standing a few feet back he allowed himself to relax if only a little bit. Crossing his arms over his chest he leaned against the desk and sent a sharp glare to the business owner.

"What do you want Krei?" He was hoping that his voice just sounded annoyed and not on the verge of panic.

Krei didn't answer him right away. He just continued to smile at him, looking quite comfortable and content in the trashy little apartment as he took his time taking everything in. His calm demeanor was setting Hiccup even more and more on edge. He tightened his hold around his arms to keep them from shaking but he had a feeling that no matter what he did to hide it Krei would just somehow know.

"You know Hiccup," Krei started, casually making his way towards the boy, "I really can't thank you enough for your help with this little project of mine. It means a lot to me that you're helping with the decoding and simplifying of the files and what not." He said, coming to a stop right before the boy, a wicked smirk pulling over his lips that made Hiccup's stomach clench. "It almost makes me feel like we were never enemies. Like there could be nothing sinister in the way you're helping me out."

"What are you getting at K.."

Before he could finish he found himself interrupted by one of the hands coming up to clamp over his mouth. "No. Sh." He could feel this conversation going south fast as the man's grin widened. "You see I'd like to think that, but a little birdie told me that you had something quite different planned for our little project."

A sudden jab in his stomach made Hiccup jolt, more from the shock than from the pain. He reached out, grabbing at Krei's arm as what was just done registered in his mind. He could already feel the edges of his mind growing fuzzy and his knees growing weak. He barely registered that Krei removed his hand from his face while he stumbled and just about fell into his worst enemy. He winched when strong hands wrapped around his upper arms with such a strong grip that he knew it was going to bruise.

"That's a good boy." Krei cooed slowly lowering him to the floor.

Hiccup tried to scream. He tried to call out for anyone. He tried to kick and fight, but it was as if his mind was detached from his body. As if no matter how hard he tried he wasn't even able to twitch a finger.

"You know, I really wished I could have trained you better." Krei sighed, laying the boy on the hardwood floor of his home. "I guess I'll just have to be a little less lenient when I get my new dog. Keep them on a shorter lease and make sure they don't bark or bite."

When he tried to yell out, to cures the older man that was now mulling around his home, all that managed to get passed his lips was a choked sounded gasp. He just about managed to swallow while his eyes rolled back, briefly making him black out before he snapped his mind back into focus from sheer will.

"I guess you know what they say though." Krei carried on, "you can't teach an old dog new tricks. I have to face facts that you were already set in your ways when I got a hold of you." He sighed while Hiccup struggled to keep his eyes open. "Than again, that other child is looking quiet promising."

At that Hiccup felt his stomach drop to his feet and his mouth go dry. He couldn't possibly be talking about...

"I'm sure that Hiro will make a lovely pet. All I have to do is completely crush his spirit and he'll be running jobs for me for the rest of his life."

Hiccup snarled, his body jerking violently when Krei drew closer causing the older man to jump. Sadly however that was all he could do. Even that one move completely wiped him out and left his lungs burning for air and his head feeling even heavier than before. Seeing that he was no longer a threat Krei threw his head back in laughter before he crouched down before the boy.

"Still so much life in you hm?" He grinned, his hand coming down to push Hiccup's bangs away from his eyes. "You are going to make this so much fun."


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

It's A Long Way Down

Something was wrong. It had been way to long. Way to long since Hiccup had tried to contact him or speak to him. While he was sure that Hiccup was busy and he was mad at Tadashi for whatever reason this wasn't like the other at all. It had been five days. Hiccup had never gone silent for five days before. Three he could handle. Three could make sense. But five? If it was five days with no word than something was very, very wrong.

All morning his stomach had been twisting up in knots and his heart had been beating so fast he was surprised he could still even feel a pulse. When he'd finally snapped and gone to see Hiccup earlier this morning as well the tiny apartment had been completely deserted. There was nothing left of Hiccup's anywhere. It was as if he'd just vanished into thin air and Tadashi had even gone out to check again just in case his eyes were playing tricks on him. He still remembered the way that the bile had slid up his throat when he realized that Hiccup had been wiped from the very existence of the one room place. He still remembered running to the doorless bathroom and emptying his stomach into the toilet.

Hiccup was gone. Someone had taken him and left no trace of his existence, and that could only lead to one thing.

They were going to kill him.

If he wasn't dead already.

That was the conclusion that Tadashi had come up with this morning and as he made his way down the long, wide hallway of his school he knew that there was really only one person that might know what was going on.

Without a word to announce his presence Tadashi burst into the room of Professor Robert Callaghan.

"Sir I need to talk to you about something."

Much to his never ending annoyance at the current moment Tadashi gave a sharp glare to the other professors sitting in the chairs just across from the man's desk. It seemed that he'd just interrupted what was probably a small facility meeting of some sort but he couldn't find it in himself to care. Staring down the professors from his other class he continued to talk to the one he'd come for here.

"In privet."

The two other teachers, one male and one female, glared right back at him as they straightened up in their chairs, seemingly quite content to be there.

"It's very rude to enter a room without knocking first young man." The male scolded, waving a finger at Tadashi as he made his way into the room. "You should know that us teachers aren't slaves. We don't jump to every students beck and..."

"If you don't get your fat ass out of that chair now I will pick you up and toss you out that window." Tadashi promised, his voice a low hiss while he brought his face inches away from the stunned male. "And that's not a threat, it's a promise. Now, get, out."

"Tadashi calm down." Callaghan's voice drew Tadashi attention towards the older man as he straightened himself out of the hunched over position he'd taken with the other professor. "What's wrong?"

"Hiccup's gone missing."

Callaghan went oddly still at the news. Precious seconds ticked by as he did nothing but stare at the student across from him with an almost eerie silence between them both.

"Arch, Rose, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. We will continue this meeting later."

Stepping back from the chairs to allow the two enough room to move Tadashi ignored the confused glares that he was getting from the man and women as they got up and made their way out. He didn't even bother taking their places in the seats as he stood before Callaghan's desk and he could barely wait until the door was closed before he started speaking.

"I haven't seen him or heard from him in the last five days and when I went to his apartment to check on him there was nothing left in it. I think that someone took him and I think it was Alister Krei."

While he spoke Robert listened with his hand covering the bottom half of his mouth and his brows drawing down in sharp concentration over calculating eyes. He didn't say anything for a moment, he just allowed the words to float in the air around him with ease as Tadashi couldn't find himself able to stop twitching, his body pumping more adrenaline as what he thought might just be an idea was slowly becoming more and more concrete.

"This, is a problem." He finally said leaning forward in his seat as he pushed it back. "I was getting worried when he hadn't contacted me in he last few days, but if you say that his place is empty too than this could be very bad."

"Do you know where he is? Or where he could be?" Tadashi asked, his rage quickly fading as worry stepped up to take the forefront of his mind.

If Callaghan thought that this was bad than this just got a whole lot worse. If Hiccup hadn't gotten a hold of him either than that had to mean that he wasn't just still missing his phone but that he hadn't managed to get a hold of anyone through anything. No emails, no drop bys. He was just simply gone.

"I'm sorry but I don't." Callaghan sighed, sitting back in his seat as he reached into his drawer. "But that does explain why he never replied to my message."

"He doesn't have a cell phone rig-holy shit!"

Tadashi jumped back as a tiny form of something jumped up on his teachers desk. Seeing that Callaghan wasn't freaking out however he stiffly kept himself in place and looked down at what was sitting there.

"This is how me and Hiccup communicate sometimes when his phone won't work or we have a package that needs to be delivered. You might have caught a brief glimpse of it around the school on the rare occasion."

He had. Now that he was thinking about it he had seen it months ago. Admittedly he'd only caught the tail end of it as it was leaving his lab but he'd just mistaken it for a lizard or some other type of animal. Now that he had a clear look at it he could see that it was actually a miny version of Toothless. It was as if he'd taken his Terrible Terror idea and just applied it to making a baby version of his own dragon.

"He's got a brilliant mind that child." Callaghan continued as he stroked his fingers down the creatures back. "I meant him online, he saw some of my prototypes for prosthetics and told me about some of the flaws that I had in the blueprints. I was so impressed by his changes and knowledge on the subject that I actually teamed up with him on a few things."

Tadashi found what Hiccup had told his group during the disaster dinner popping up in his mind at his teachers words. Hiccup had said that he helped in the advancements of prosthetics as part of legal work. He never would have guessed however that Callaghan did the same work. However with his military background it made sense. No doubt he'd want to help his fellow soldiers in anyway that he knew how.

"We've been working on a project together to take Krei down, but if his cover is blown then there is no protection for him." He sighed. "I can't help the boy out of this mess he's in. He's dug himself in to deep. This was honestly his last chance to wipe his slate clean. If they catch him they will throw him behind bars. I think you might have to face the facts Tadashi. He knows this, he might have just left."

"No."

The word was passed his mouth not even a second after Callaghan was finished. Hiccup wouldn't just leave. That wasn't like him. He would never just leave Tadashi behind like that without a word unless he was forced.

"There's something going on here. Gogo told me that Hiccup was working with Krei, and with you. She must have...oh, my, god."

Realization dawned on him like a punch to the diaphragm, knocking the wind from his lungs and leaving him with a sickly feeling. Gogo wouldn't. There was no way that she would betray Tadashi like that. That she would even consider turning someone over to their worst enemy. She couldn't. Not after Tadashi had told her how much the boy meant to him. Not after everything he'd been through.

But she had taken Hiccup's phone. Outside of Hiccup and Callaghan the only other ones who knew about what was going on was Gogo and Tadashi himself. What if she went to Krei's office. What if she really did turn Hiccup over? Just what would Krei do? Just what was he capable of?

"If you believe that is true than Hiccup mentioned once that he had a dragon bigger than this one stowed away somewhere." The man continued. "He said that it would be the only thing that would be able to find him if he went missing."

"You mean Toothless?" Tadashi asked, drawing his attention back to the man and forcing himself to keep calm. He would be of no use to Hiccup if his mind was lost in a panic. Years of running jobs with the boy had taught him that much.

"Is that the name he gave it?" At the quirked brow that Callaghan gave him Tadashi couldn't help the twitch of his own lips from forming a fleeting smirk.

"His group has a weird thing for names." He concluded before he straightened himself out. "Thanks Professor. I'll inform you when I find him."

As he made to walk out of the room the man called back to him. "Don't do anything stupid Tadashi. One brilliant mind is enough to lose."

"I'm not promising anything."

Tadashi left those as his parting words, the door sliding shut behind him while he made his way back to his lab. He knew where Toothless was. It would take about forty five minutes to get to him from where he was, but there was one last stop that he had to make before he left.

Students he passed in the hallways practically jumped out of his way when they saw him coming, and no one could take their eyes off of the always smiling and cheery male that looked about ready to murder someone. Not that Tadashi could blame them. The rage was burning so hotly in his stomach he could pretty much feel it radiating off of his skin. He could feel it sinking into his bones and twisting his nerves. He wanted to hurt someone, anyone. If anything happened to Hiccup and it was because of what one of his so called friends had done? He couldn't even think enough as to what he was going to do.

"GOGO!"

He didn't scream so much as roar her name as he stormed into the shared lab, all eyes snapping to him and all conversations dying as he marched his way over to the girl.

"Tell me this wasn't you. Tell me you weren't that stupid!" Slamming his hands on either side of her hips and trapping her against her worktable he pretty much snarled the words in her face.

He was done be calm. He was done trying to play nice. He'd done everything for these guys and in return they had thrown the one person he could be himself with to the wolves.

"Answer me!"

Slamming his fist down on the table made her jump, and he honestly couldn't remember ever seeing such a look of fear over the girls face before. Gogo wasn't afraid of anything, but it appeared that she had met her match with the monster of Tadashi's past. He almost found it to be hysterically ironic that they were worried about Hiccup bring out the worst in him when they were the ones who started to poke at the beast. If only they could have left well enough alone. Hiccup and him would be happy and Tadashi wouldn't be about two seconds away from beating the crap out of one of his friends for taking stupid risks with other people's lives.

To her credit, she managed to lock her fear away once she was over her initial shock as she glared right back at him.

"I did what I had to."

At her answer Tadashi let loose a bark of a laugh. As the seconds slowly ticked by it was almost borderline manic while he brought up a hand to be placed over his eyes.

"What you had to!" He repeated, taking a step back as he continued to laugh, feeling as if he was losing a bit of his grip on his sanity as he dropped his hand back down and grinned at her. "If so much as one hair on his head is hurt I swear to god..."

"Tadashi!"

His fingers came to a stop, the tips just grazing the soft skin of her throat as the voice of Honey Lemon let out a panicked screech.

"Tadashi don't!"

He couldn't say he was to surprised when he felt a pair of large hands wrapping around the tops of his upper arms and ripping him away from the girl. As he was shoved back he nearly fell over, but he managed to stay on his feet as he turned his attention to Wasabi while the large male placed himself between the two. He almost couldn't help the wolfish smile the borderline predatorily as he straightened himself out.

"Tadashi calm down." He could tell that it was hard for the darker skinned male to keep himself calm. He could see that Wasabi was just about ready to attack him as Tadashi was to attack Gogo. He didn't feel threatened though. If anything his rage just grew and his smile along with it. "Now what's going on?"

"I don't have time to explain this to you."

He didn't have time for any of this now that he was thinking about it. Hiccup was missing, and there was no telling just how long he'd been missing for. For all he knew the boy could already be dead. That thought alone was enough for the smile to fall from Tadashi's lips as the realization hit home. Without another word he turned back to the way he'd come from and sprinted out the door.

He had no time for this right now. He could deal with it after. Frist things first he had to find Hiccup and make sure that he was okay. Only once he was done with that would he figure out where to go from there.

He just hoped that he wasn't to late.


	35. Chapter 35

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 35

!WARNING! This chapter contains torture and awfulness (not rape). Somewhat graphic and disturbing. Please read with caution! (Ya this is mostly just to cover my ass. :P)

It was nothing but cobwebs. Cobwebs and shadows dancing around a mottled red landscape. Shifting in and out of different shapes at such a dizzying pace, uncaring about the solid forms that they should have been taking. Sounds muted, nothing but whispers and yet so loud that it left a constant ringing in the air. Stifling, hot, humid. Thick and heavy air that made it a struggle to breath. The darkness was creeping on the corners, blotting out the red slowly and replacing it with nothingness.

Than the air cleared.

Hiccup gasped, the feeling of the sudden rush of sour air burning at his abused throat as the world came back to him. Every slash, scrape and bruise, every burn, welt and slice, he could feel everything with such a new clarity, as if he was getting every mark again. As if it was happening all over. As if it was all happening at once.

He choked, his throat raw and bleeding, the tips of his fingers and toes twitching in the cool afternoon air. He'd given up trying to move his limbs. He'd accepted the fact that he was stuck, that he wasn't able to move an inch with the tight straps holding him down and keeping him in place. It took him a moment but eventually he managed to focus his gaze enough to stare up at the bright light that hung lowly from the ceiling right above his head.

A dull thud underneath his skin was a constant painful reminder over how hard his heart was working to keep up with the sudden rush of oxygen. A sharp pain in his jaw from clenching his teeth to hold back his screams of pain and rage was becoming more and more painful as time went on.

He had no idea why Krei was doing this. He couldn't see what he was getting out of it. Krei was going to kill him. He'd come to terms with that, but he couldn't understand why he was dragging it out like this. The thing that scared him however was that it seemed that Krei didn't need a reason.

"Welcome back."

Screwing his eyes shut Hiccup turned his head away from the source of the voice. A soft chuckled floated into the room and around Hiccup's head like a snake, coiling itself around his mind and setting poison in his blood.

"You know I'm rather impressed," Krei purred, "I'd thought you'd have broken by now."

Hiccup was surprised himself. He'd thought he'd be done by now too. Every time he thought about just giving in, about just giving up, all he would see would be Hiro.

The longer he could keep Krei occupied for than the longer he would stay away from his boyfriend's little brother. While he was sure that Tadashi could move on without him, he knew that his world would fall apart if anything happened to the boy. All Hiccup had to do was keep himself going until someone realized something was wrong. If they came for him and caught Krei than he would go to jail. He couldn't touch Hiro from there. He couldn't manipulate the boy from behind bars and both Hiro and Tadashi would be safe.

"You just have to say it. Just once. That's all I want. Than I can end this nightmare." The man said, his fingers running through the sweaty mess of Hiccup's hair as he spoke.

Pressing his lips into a tight line Hiccup kept his head firmly faced away from the man beside him. As the monster sighed, he could feel the warm breath bathing over his cheek and the fresh scent of mint drifting passed his nose.

"Alright. It's your choice."

Cold metal against his upper thigh was the only warning that Hiccup got before the blade bit into his skin. His eyes rolled back, his head pressing against the table he was spread out on while a deep cut was carved across his leg. Of course Krei never stopped there though. Once he pulled it out he place the tip back at the start of the freshly bleeding wound. Flattening the blade he slid it in, the sharp edge traveling deep under the thick skin as if he was opening an envelope with a letter opener. Hiccup could almost feel his teeth cracking from the tightness in his jaw as the skin was held open.

"You know I never get tired of this, regardless of how many times I do it."

Hiccup didn't say anything. Sweat dripping down his forehead he tried to hold back the screams that he knew the other wanted to hear so badly. There was nothing left for him to do but wait. There was nothing that he could do but wait. His whole body was as tense as a bow string as the sound of a spoon scrapping against the sides of a glass turned his nerves to liquid fire.

As the liquid was poured into his open wound Hiccup screamed.

(***)

Krei allowed the mixture of salt, vinegar and lemon juice to pour into the cut he was prying open. The twisted grin over his lips couldn't be removed now, not when he had just what he wanted for so long at his mercy. He couldn't even describe the boy's screams, he wouldn't be able to find the words that would bring it any justice. To him, Hiccup's cries sounded like the chorus of angels. Something so beautiful that you wouldn't believe it could be real until you heard it. It was perfect, just the way he remembered, just the way he dreamed.

While Hiccup wasn't giving him just what he wanted, Krei also couldn't find it in himself to be disappointed. He hadn't thought that his stubborn streak could last this long. He didn't think that Hiccup could keep up this long. To see how well he was fairing was fascinating. It almost made Krei want to keep him. However seeing how well he was doing he highly doubted that there was much that he could do to break the boy.

No, Hiccup was a malfunction. Something that shouldn't have happened. Which was really to bad, since everything else about him was so perfect.

Although he was going to enjoy his fun while it lasted.

As Hiccup fought against the restraints holding him down Krei placed the cup back on his worktable. It fell over, rolling into a collection of dirty knifes in different states of sharpness. He still remembered the pitch of Hiccup's scream when he used an especially blunt one to saw through one of his fingers.

Digging his nails into a particular nasty bite at the base of his throat Krei drug his nails downwards. His sharp, claw like fingers broke skin as they slid over day old knife wounds and resent sever blisters let over from wood burners. Krei had found that particular experiment rather interesting. Who knew just how easily those things marked up human skin just as well as wood. Although he had to say that the calligraphy K did look rather nice on the stomach of his work dog. He hoped that it would be the last thing to rot away once he was finished his work.

Much to his never ending delight Hiccup's whole body recoiled from the touch. He loved watching him straining to push himself into the table. It was like he was trying to disappear.

Chuckling to himself he lowered his head until he was hovering just above the sharp hipbone of the boy's waist. Trailing his fingers over fresh teeth marks that he had left behind, and faded ones that had been there before he had, he grinned. Lifting himself back up he moved his hand downward, lazily tracing over the wound before pressing down on it, unleashing a whole new wave of pain as the liquid was pushed further into his body, some sliding out with a mixture of thick blood that pooled around his body on the table.

Oddly it was satisfying to watch just what he could put the boy through before he couldn't take anymore and would pass out. He'd already done so a few times but Krei never minded. Every time Hiccup surrendered to the pain and blacked out he would just spend a few hours wondering which trick he should try next. He loved thinking of new ways to make the male scream. Served him right for thinking that betraying Krei was a good idea.

What a fool.

No one betrayed Krei and got away with it.

"You know I hear that they have this device," he said, his voice nonchalant as sharp gasps of air filled the otherwise silent room, "it's a nifty little thing really. What it is, is a mask. However one side is coated with a form of acid that's activated once it touches human skin. It burns it right on and melts it to your skin, making it completely permanent." As he spoke he grabbed at the strong chin of his rag doll, forcing him to face him before he continued. "What do you think? I think that maybe we should try it next. Get you a nice little dog mask." Patting the boy's cheek he couldn't help the chuckle that slipped passed his lips from the far away gaze in the normally bright green orbs. If Hiccup hadn't been close before he was definitely getting closer. Whatever strength he had wouldn't be able to hold up much longer and that thought of victory alone was enough to make his insides twist with pleasure. "It's to bad really. You would have made an excellent lap dog."

Hiccup didn't respond. His body went limp and his eyes rolled into the back of his head before they closed, his head dropping like a dead weight in Krei's hand that only made him laugh harder. Letting him go he turned away from the passed out child on the examination table and back to the much smaller table that held all of his toys.

He had so many more ideas, so many more things to try. He wasn't lying about that mask either. He could see it now. That would no doubt be the last straw. Hiccup wouldn't last after that, not with the state the rest of his body was in. His heart wouldn't be able to stand it. His mind wouldn't be able to handle it. It would be a nice little send off. A fitting ending for his enemy. Although he was going to mourn the loss. Hiccup would have made a fantastic ally. If only Krei could have managed to convince him to play nice.

Turning his attention back to Hiccup he lifted the boy's head, tilting it back slightly so that he could see his face. He had to admit, he was going to miss that spitfireing, silver tongued mouth of his, and those toxic eyes filled with constant rage.

Just as he was about to pick up the cup that had fallen over Krei heard the sudden loud sound of shattering glass. He could tell that it wasn't on this floor, he'd made sure to pick one of the floors that still had boards rather than windows, so it meant that whoever had just broken in had either come from above or below them.

A wicked smile twisted up the corners of his lips as he melted back into the shadows. He figured that someone from Hiccup's group would find him eventually. He wasn't stupid after all. In his mind however he didn't see it as a failure. No, it was just another round in the game.

And he couldn't wait to get started.


	36. Chapter 36

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 36

This had to be the right place. Tadashi was sure of that. Not only had Toothless lead him right here but he couldn't help but realize just how perfect it was. The shell of a tall building, a project that had been abandoned by the city once they saw how pointless it was. Smack dab in the middle of the worst part of town. No one was going to be crawling around these upper levels, there would have been no point. And if anyone would have heard anything, even someone crying out for help or screaming in pain well, they would just ignore it.

As he slid down from the top of Toothless back Tadashi could feel the pain in his jaw blooming from grinding his teeth so hard. Now the only thing that he had to do was find Hiccup. While it should have been the easy part this place was huge. At least ten floors high and about half of the width of his own school. It would take him to long to go floor by floor, and he wasn't willing to waste anymore time.

But he had seen that the entire floor underneath him had been boarded up. While all the others were exposed to the elements, the icy wind dragging its nails over his skin now was a fresh reminder of that, there had been one floor he'd noticed that had been covered. There would be no reason for anyone to do that unless they didn't want people in the buildings next door or any traffic helicopter to notice something.

With a pretty clear view in mind now Tadashi walked away from the window that he'd flown in. Now all he had to do was find a set of stairs and get downstairs. Than the real problem would being. He didn't even know how he was going to get Hiccup out of here. Or what he was even going to do with Krei.

Okay that part wasn't true. He knew just what he was going to do once he got his hands on that stupid, egotistical, son of a... Oh. Stairs.

Perfect. Unlike the rest of the building it appeared that these had been finished. It was a sloppy, thrown together job but Tadashi didn't need it to be pretty, he just needed them there.

Keeping his steps as quiet as possible he made his way into the dark and down the stairs. He had no idea if Krei was here or not. He didn't know if he was lurking somewhere in the shadows or if he was out trying to find more things to do who knows what or if he was just attending a meeting. Still the smartest thing that he knew that he could do was not give away his location. While it hadn't been the best idea to smash through that window it had been the only opening that Toothless could have fit though. All of the other open areas were way to small for him to fit his massive wingspan through. If Krei was here than he was bound to have heard that and no doubt already knew that Tadashi was in the building. While it crossed his mind that his silence might have been pointless at this point he figured that he had nothing to lose by making it worse.

As he finally reached the bottom of the stairs he peered around the edge. What he saw however made him forget everything about being silent and a horror filled gasp tore from his lungs.

In the middle of the room, bathed in the harsh light of an industrial bright light like some sort of morbid painting of a fallen angel, was Hiccup.

Tears burned his eyes, blurring his vision so severely and so quickly that Tadashi had to wipe them away to make sure that what he was seeing was real. There was so much blood. There were so many objects surrounding him. Giant machine that he was hooker up to. Strange needles poking into his arms, neck and head. His body was held down, forced to stay in place with heavy straps that were thicker than the palms of Tadashi's hands. He almost couldn't even see the peachy pale skin that he knew Hiccup possessed underneath the dark and light mixture of blood. The metallic taste filled the air and made Tadashi gag. Even so he didn't hesitate before running over to the boy and throwing all form of caution to the wind.

"Hiccup!"

Yelling was a very stupid idea, and if Tadashi would have been thinking than he would have cursed himself out for his reckless action. -But he wasn't thinking, or really he was but the only thing that he could think about was Hiccup. It was getting to Hiccup, making sure that he was okay, making sure that he was still alive.

When he finally reached his side he all but crashed into the examination table that Hiccup was tied down to. His hands were shaking as he raised them, but he couldn't bring himself to touch the other. What if by doing that he was exposing Hiccup to more pain? What if the boy woke up and started crying out? Begging Tadashi to stop, to not hurt him? Just the thought alone was enough to drop a stone into the pit of Tadashi's stomach. The only comfort that he could draw from being so close was that he could see Hiccup's chest slowly raising and lowering. It was shallow, almost barely there, but he could see it. Underneath all of the blood, the cuts, the bruises, Hiccup was still fighting.

Seeing how strong his boyfriend was being, seeing how hard he was fighting even though he looked as if he should have been dead about a hundred times over brought a new wave of tears to Tadashi's eyes. He fought them back however, he didn't have time for that right now. He could cry all he wanted and scream at the world for being unfair later, but not right now. And not in front of Hiccup.

Without another thought Tadashi knew what he had to do. He had to call the hospital. Hiccup needed medical attention. He probably needed it yesterday, but right now was the only time that Tadashi could worry about. Hiccup needed to get into a hospital and into some proper care state.." Tadashi had no idea how much longer he was going to last if he stayed like this.

"Hiccup." His voice was softer this time. A gentle whisper to try and coax the boy back into consciousness. "Hiccup please wake up."

Hiccup made no move to show that he had heard him. He just continued to lay there, completely dead to the world.

Shit, this was no good.

"Hiccup come on."

Slipping his hand into his back pocket Tadashi snatched up his phone.

"Wake up for me babe, please."

Still nothing.

Breathing became hard as he felt himself become overwhelmed with a numbing mix of rage and grief. What if he was to late? What if Hiccup didn't make it? Shaking his head Tadashi snapped himself out of it. He couldn't think about that, not right now.

With a huge amount of effort on his part he tore his gaze away from Hiccup and towards his phone. Typing in the number as quickly as he could he brought the device to his ear and snapped his attention back to the one he was calling for as if just those few seconds could have left Hiccup exposed to more harm.

"Come on. Come on." He hissed through gritted teeth while the phone rang and rang.

"911 what's your ex..?"

Tadashi didn't hear the rest of it as the phone fell from his hand and his body jerked wildly. With a howl of pain he whipped himself away from the body on the bed and over to the side, his phone out of his reach and his shoulder screaming with a new wave of pain he hadn't felt in years. Bring his hand up to press against it he could feel the blood slipping through his fingers as his eyes narrowed at the monster he'd knew would be here.

"Krei."

(***)

Krei could not stop himself from smiling as he looked at the white knight that had shown up to save the black king. If he was going to be honest he was a little shocked. He really would have thought that the blond would have been the first one on the scene. It hadn't even really crossed his mind that Hiccup's little plaything would be the one to brake threw a window and storm the castle. Still, maybe this boy could make things interesting as well.

While he couldn't remember his name at the current moment, he was horrible with names sometimes, he could recall that this was in fact the older brother of the one he would be recruiting soon enough.

"Why hello there." He snickered, his sick satisfaction growing at the growl that he received in return. "I'm sorry. I wasn't really expecting company. I would have cleaned up a little bit if I thought I would be entertaining."

"Shut up!"

The scream was so loud that his face did fall for just a second to form a wince. It was quick to slip back to an easy grin however as he tasked at the young boy, waving the scalpel that he'd dug into the others shoulder like a finger to a misbehaving child.

"Ah, ah." He cooed, his voice warm despite leaving everyone who heard it cold. "It's not good manners to be so rude to someone in their own home. Don't you know anything?"

A scream that would have scared the dead burst forth for the month of the one before him. It was so demonic and deformed that even Krei found a chill running down his spine. It did little to quench his amusement however, only adding to the fun as he shifted a foot back.

When the kid ran for him he all to easily knocked him to the side. Although maybe not easily enough. He wasn't expecting the other to turn around and swing his heel into the side of his ribs. He wasn't ready for the explosion of pain that followed or for the way that his legs nearly gave out on him from the attack.

With a grunt he brought his hand up to wrap around his ribs, stumbling a little to the side he turned quickly on his heels and just managing to dodge yet another kick. The frown over his face swiftly twisted into a sinister and feral grin. Maybe this was going to be more fun than he thought. He couldn't even imagine the look that would no doubt cover Hiccup's face when he woke up to see that his dearly beloved had parish, and all because they were no match from someone like him.

"Well, this is going to be more work than I was expecting." He admitted, slipping to the side when the boy came at him again. "But I do so love a challenge."

When the others back was open he was quick to spin on his one leg as the other came up and slammed against the back of the darker haired male's legs.

With a small yelp of shock the young man crashed to the ground. Before Krei could drop his heel across the back of the kids neck however he'd rolled to the side and back onto his feet.

Smirk widening Krei twirled the small surgical knife around his finger a few times before he managed to bring it back to a comfortable grip.

"You know I had fun with this one." He said, taunting the other, watching the rage burn brighter in his eyes. "He has the best screams."

"Shut up!" The roar came before the blow.

Krei just managed to bring his elbow up, blowing his head and allowing his body to move with the impact before he came back with his own. He landed a solid hit, right against the the side of his opponents face. His hand screamed in pain from the contact of the bone, but he didn't let it show, masking the pain and forcing it down with a deep breath. Besides, he could tell that the hit had shaken the other up some. He staggered a few times on his feet, shuffling back to regroup and bring himself out of Krei's reach for another attack.

"You know he's not going to make it." A twisted smirk curled over the snarl of his teeth as the boy froze. "You're to late. His body wasn't going to be able to keep going, not with all of the damage I've done to it. It's to bad. Such a waste real.."

The kid was up in his face before he could even finish his sentence.

He didn't even feel the first hit, or the next few after that. At least not right away. They were coming to fast, seemingly from everywhere. The pain was instantaneous, and he could feel it spreading over him at an unbelievable pace. The last hit, coming straight across his face as if the guy was trying to punch a hole though him, knocked him to his knees. His mind was still swimming when a hand grabbed at his hair and yanked his head back. Another hit to his face and he was suddenly looking at the ground. Blood covering his vision as he tried to push himself up with an arm that felt as if it had been broken in three different places. He didn't even get half way up when a kick sent him slamming hard enough into one of the flimsy boards he'd thrown up. He could feel some of it falling away, the cold air licking at his burning skin with a curious air as he stared up at the ceiling, squinting in the new light.

The boy, Tadashi, that was his name, didn't even bother giving him a second glance. He just left him there, gasping on his own blood and swallowing down a tooth or two as he walked over to where Krei kept his pet.

Well, that was just rude.

It took a great amount of effort, but even with his body screaming at him in protest he pushed himself up onto his elbows. Rolling over to his side made him bite down on his cheek to keep from letting out a groan of pain. His jaw roared back at his in rage for the abuse however and he found the sound slipping out anyways.

He didn't care though. He was going to finish this. No one screwed with him and got away with it.

Getting to his feet was an even bigger struggle, and by the time he'd managed the task he could see that Tadashi had already managed to undo all of the straps that held Hiccup down and was muttering words that he couldn't hear from this distance. It didn't appear that Hiccup was listening. His eyes were still shut and his head still lulled to the side when Tadashi carefully lifted him up to see if the back of his head had any damage.

"You know," Krei found that he couldn't continue on with his words until he'd spat out a mouthful of blood, "he was calling for you. Thinking that you could save him."

Even from this distance he could see the strain in Tadashi's shoulders as he carefully placed Hiccup back down. Christ, the kid might as well have been made of glass the way that this guy was handling him. He highly doubted that it was possible to break Hiccup any further than he already was.

"I never said anything of course." Krei continued, smiling with blood covered teeth as Tadashi drew closer. "I think that the idea of you saving him is what kept him going for so long, and that made it just so much more fun for me."

"Stop talking you sick son of a..."

He was close enough now.

Krei brought up the knife and stabbed it down into Tadashi's shoulder. The scream of pain he received in turn wasn't nearly as nice as the ones he'd been pulling out of Hiccup for the passed few days, but they weren't the worst that he'd ever heard. Bringing his knee up as he pulled down on the boy's shoulder he jabbed it into his stomach. While the other was winded he used his forward going momentum to spin him around and slam him into the boards. The cheap material shook violently, a large chuck of it falling away and falling out the window.

He went to lunge at the boy, he was going to end this fight here and now, but just as he went to strike down into his heart the brat jumped out of his way. His arms still propelling his body forward left him to slam into the barrier himself, his arm going right outside the hole and more of it falling away. He almost fell down with it, but he managed to gather his balance and turn on his feet.

"You slippery little eel." He hissed. He was done playing. He'd had it with this kid. "When I'm done with you two I'm going to break your brother. Hiro will be a nice little brain to add to my collection."

He'd been hoping to pull out some sort of reaction. He'd been hoping to stun the other enough that he could attack him while his mind was still in a state of shock, but the kid was eerily calm. Krei didn't even see the kick, he didn't even know that he had been kicked until his body was breaking through what was left of the barrier and he was reaching out to grab onto nothing but air.

He could feel the wind whipping passed his face as he fell. He could feel the coldness of it biting into his skin and turning his numb within seconds. None of that bothered him however as much as the fact that the prick didn't even care to watch the great man fall.


	37. Chapter 37

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 37

"So just one more time please, for the record."

Tadashi fought hard to keep his face neutral. He knew what they were actually trying to do. They were trying to get him to snap. To break down and admit that it was him. That he had been the one to shove Krei out the window. To admit that the man hadn't simply tripped and fell like he had suggested but that there was a much more sinister story behind it all.

Like hell he was going to tell them the truth.

It's not that he gave two shits about what happened to himself. He could end up in jail for the rest of his life and he wouldn't care, but he couldn't be that heartless. The state that Krei had left Hiccup in was unbelievable. It was sickening and he nearly cringed outwardly at the thought of it. Hiccup was going to need someone there. He was going to need help picking up the pieces and that wasn't something that Tadashi could do from behind bars. He was going to have to be with Hiccup every step of the way. He wasn't going to settle for anything less.

If that meant lying through his teeth about what had really happened then so be it.

"I found Hiccup. I saw Krei. I gave chase and when we were on the fifth floor he tripped over a few cable wires that had been ripped from the wall and fell through the window." He lied. "I didn't see any reason to try and help him so I went back to Hiccup. He is the one suffering from the most damage here."

"That's only because he's still alive."

"Barely."

The officer across from him let out an uncaring hum as he looked over the papers in his hands. The noise was enough to set Tadashi on edge and make him grind his teeth. This man didn't care. He didn't give two shits about what had happened or about what had been going on. As far as he was concerned Hiccup was just some street rat that got mixed up with some freaky rich guy and got what he deserved. But nobody deserved that. Nobody deserved that kind of brutality. It was over kill. It went passed just plain wrong. The way this man was treating it like nothing special was enough to make his blood scream and his hands clench.

"Look sir." He fought to keep his temper when the man lazily shifted his gaze up to meet with his. "I have answered all of your questions without trouble. Is it possible that I can be released now? That is, after all, my boyfriend sitting in the hospital and I would like to see him as soon as possible. Right now if I could."

"I still have some questions for you..."

"Which I swear I will answer." Tadashi interrupted. "Just, please," He couldn't do this anymore, he had to see Hiccup. Had to make sure that he was okay. He had to be there before he woke up. "Please let me go."

The man finally looked at him, actually looked. With a sigh he dropped his attention back to the papers with his one hand while he waved the boy off with the other.

"Go ahead than. You won't be able to see him much longer anyways."

Tadashi scowled at the last part of information that he was given but didn't waste any time in snatching up his jacket and throwing open the door. He quickly made his way out of the police station and into the parking lot where his Aunt was waiting, propped up against her car with a certain dazed look about her face.

"Come on, let's go Aunt Cass." He muttered, his voice giving her a start as her body jolted from the car like it had been shocked.

Without another word they slipped into the vehicle and did up their seat belts before heading out onto the busy street.

Tadashi ignored the tapping of her fingers against the steering wheel, a nervous habit of her's that he had noticed way back in his youth. At this moment he couldn't be bothered with the little details, his only thoughts were of getting back to Hiccup and figuring out where to go from there.

The boy was a mess when Tadashi had finally found him. All blood and bruises, he could barely even stay conscious. It just boggled his mind how someone could do that to another human being. Sure he and Hiccup both were no saints, and Hiccup had tortured Gogo and probably a few other people, but he wouldn't be cruel enough to drag out that kind of punishment for days. He wouldn't be so cruel as to go that far. He couldn't believe that this had happened to Hiccup, and that it was all his fault.

Tadashi knew better than mixing up his two lives. He should have kept them separated and just been fine with that. But he'd thought that everything would end okay. He'd thought that they would all be fine and that everyone would learn to just get along after a while. He should have known better. There was no way that he was prepared for what Gogo had done, he'd had no idea that she would take it as far as she did. It was one thing to hate someone, it was another thing entirely to subject them to the same kind of nightmare. The only difference was that her's had been two hours and done reluctantly. Hiccup's had been two days and the sick bastard who did it to him had enjoyed it. Hiccup also didn't get to go home now. He'd failed his part of the job. The cop was right, and so was Callaghan. Hiccup wasn't a use to whoever he was helping anymore. They were going to throw him into prison once he was deemed healthy enough to be moved.

That was something that Tadashi just couldn't allow to happen. He didn't care what he had to do, he wasn't going to let them take Hiccup from him again.

"Tadashi,"

The soft voice of his Aunt broke him out of this thoughts and he turned his attention towards her while she kept her own gaze on the road.

"I have to know, and please, don't lie to me." She said, her hands wrapping around the wheel so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "Did you push that man out of the window?"

Pressing the palm of his hand to his mouth he turned away from her and continued to look out the window. He already knew that he was going to tell her the truth, he couldn't lie to her even if he wanted too, not anymore, but he couldn't bare to see the look on her face once he told her yes.

"No." He muttered, his voice hardly muffled by his hand. "I kicked him out."

"Oh god."

Tadashi's hand shot out faster than a whip and snatched the steering wheel just as she was about to swerve into another lane of oncoming traffic. He kept his gaze fixed solely on the road while she just sat there, silent tears falling from empty eyes and running down the cheeks of a blank face.

"Brake."

At his command she snapped out of her daze, applying the brake before they ran into the car in front of them at the stop light. With one hand on the wheel she moved the other to wipe at her eyes as Tadashi sat back in his seat and removed his hand from where it had been resting. Not knowing what else to do he allowed them to fall into his lap as he turned his attention towards the world outside her car.

It might have been a better idea to walk, but that would have taken far longer and he wanted to eliminate any extra time it would take to get to Hiccup. Telling his Aunt that he was now a murderer was not what he'd had in mind when he'd gotten into the vehicle, but he supposed that they did have to talk about it at some point.

"When I found Hiccup," Tadashi started, deciding he might as well end the silence and answer the questions that she was to afraid to ask, "I didn't even recognize him. I couldn't tell if he was alive or dead. There was so much blood just...everywhere. He was hooked up to all these different machines, I didn't know what to do. Than Krei attacked me. My back was turned and I didn't... I was so distracted I hadn't even thought to look around and he got me with a scalpel right in the shoulder. I chased him after that and we fought. I swear I was just going to get him down and leave him, but then he started talking about how he wasn't finished with Hiccup yet, and what he was going to do to Hiro after and I just..." Tadashi trailed off, his arms coming up to tightly cross over his chest as his shoulder raised to his ears. "He was right there. Just standing in the window. I didn't want anything to happen to Hiro, I didn't want Hiccup to live with knowing that Krei was out there and that he might come back. I was so angry, angry and terrified. I wasn't even aware of what I was doing until I heard the glass break and watched Krei falling out the window. The worst part is though, that even after I realized what I did, I didn't reach for him. I just let him fall, I didn't even go check to see if he had somehow made it because I didn't care."

It was the honest truth, and he was sure that, that's what was going to break his Aunt's heart.

"I still don't care, and I'm happy that he's gone but... I can't get over that fact that I know one day I'm going to wake up and realize that there's someone missing from the world and that it's all my fault."

Cass didn't say anything. She just continued to look out the window of the car as the light finally turned green. Tadashi could tell that she was listening however and although he knew that it would be foolish and naïve, he hoped that maybe one day she would be able to forgive him.

"I am so sorry Aunt Cass." He said, his hand coming up to rub at his eyes before sliding down his face. "I never meant for any of this to happen. I had no idea that it was going to end like this."

"If you had known," She said, her voice so quiet he'd almost missed it, "would you have continued to see him?"

"Yes." Tadashi didn't even have to think about that. It was quickly coming to his realization that he was actually in love with Hiccup. He wouldn't be able to live without him, not anymore. Wherever the boy went was exactly where he wanted to be. He didn't care how he had to get there as long as they could be there together.

"I think you're crazy." She muttered, pulling into the hospital parking lot with a shake of her head. "But that might be what makes you two so good for each other."

Tadashi couldn't help the smallest of smiles from coming to his face at her words, something he quickly covered up with his hand as she parked the car.

"I'm not going in." She said, not even able to raise her gaze from the wheel. "I can't. I just..."

"It's fine." Tadashi assured her. "Thanks for driving me here." He leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek but when he saw her flinch he slowly pulled back. There was a few seconds of awkward silence between them before he undid his seat belt and opened the door.

"Tadashi."

He froze at the sound of her voice, not able to look back at her but not able to take another step without hearing what she had to say.

"I love you." He could feel her thin fingers wrapping around his wrist, squeezing them in a form of comfort. "I will always love you. Don't forget that."

Twisting his wrist around until he could grasp her limp fingers Tadashi felt the corners of his lips twitching up to form a small smile.

"I love you too Aunt Cass."

With those as his closing words he exited the vehicle.

He'd barely made it three steps into the hospital before Hiro had seemingly come out of nowhere and side tackled him in a hug. Upon habit Tadashi wrapped his arms around his little brother, struggling for only a moment to gather his balance so that neither of them would collide into the glossy floors.

"Astrid sent me here to wait for you." Hiro explained as he pulled back and grabbed a hold of Tadashi's hand to lead him towards Hiccup. "She said that the lady at the desk would give you a hard time in finding Hiccup's room number."

"How long have you been waiting in the lobby for?" Tadashi questioned, his brows raising as his gave a curt nod of his shoulders.

"A few hours. Although honestly I don't mind." Hiro admitted while they slipped into an elevator and he pressed on the button for floor number four. "Gogo and the rest of them are up there too and it's like a standoff between the two groups." He muttered as Tadashi felt the rage pooling in his stomach.

"What the hell is Gogo doing here?" He growled, his anger dimming slightly when Hiro tightened his hold on his hand.

"I don't know but can you just ignore her for now? Astrid's not letting anyone in the room until you see Hiccup first. So just focus on that."

"Wait," Tadashi said, all of his earlier aggression fading into nothingness as his curiosity grew. "None of you have seen Hiccup yet?"

With a shake of his head Hiro explained. "No. She said that Hiccup would want to see you first. He's been out since he got here so she's thinking that he'll be up soon. You might have come at just the right time."

Tadashi felt his stomach turn like it always did when the elevator came to a stop. He ignored it however as he followed Hiro out and continued down one of the many long, blindingly white hallways.

"The only one who's been in Hiccup's room was the doctor and she said that he was stable. He's on a lot of pain medication though so expect him to be a little... wonky." Hiro explained as he tilted his hand back and forth for emphases. "But other than that he should be okay to talk to."

"Did she give any other hints to his condition?" Tadashi questioned, "did she say what was all done to him and where he was hurt most? What kind of medical treatment he'll need? How long will he be in the hospital for? What...?"

"I don't know Tadashi." Hiro spun on his brother so fast that it made the older male halt in his tracks. "Look, I don't know what you're going to see, you would know better than I do but you can ask her all of those questions later. I didn't get to hear any of it since everyone started arguing and nearly got into a brawl."

Well, it seemed that Tadashi had missed some pretty interesting things. Taking in a deep breath to help calm his nerves he slowly let it out. When he was sure that he had centered himself again he gave a quick nod to his brother.

"Okay."

Hiro didn't waste any time in turning back around and leading Tadashi around yet another corner. He almost came to an abrupt halt when he came face to face with both sets of groups, apparently in the middle of a stare down that the brother's had walked in on.

"Tadashi!"

He sent them all a small scowl when his name was yelled by nearly every person present. If Hiccup wasn't awake than he was sure that they all just woke him up with that. Honestly what were they thinking? He was right there, he could see them. There was no need for the yelling.

Turning away from his own group he gave his attention to Astrid as he slid his hands into the pocket of his hood.

"What did I miss?"

Ever the perfect Alpha Astrid filled him in. "He's lost a lot of blood and is going to have to be on a bag for a little while. Most of the wounds on his body will be healed up within two weeks but there are some more severe ones that required stitching and bed rest for recovery. While it seems that there was a countless amount of high acid liquid poured into or on the wounds the substance was easily washed out and shouldn't cause him anymore discomfort in that area. He has three degree burns on his chest, some of which were opened but were not left long enough to gather infection. Regardless the doctor still disinfected it and wrapped him up. Oddly enough no broken bones but at least three of his fingers from his right hand have been removed. That's all I know for now."

"That's great, thank you."

Hearing the extent of what he had seen was enough to make Tadashi feel physically ill. He could already feel his stomach rolling at the thought of what Hiccup had been through and the bile burning his throat, but he swallowed it down as he turned his attention to his own group. From their slack jawed expression and dumbfounded faces he could tell that this must have been the first time that they were hearing the news as well.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"We came to see how Hiccup was doing." Honey Lemon said.

"Bullshit."

"It's true Tadashi." Wasabi said, speaking up for his friend as Honey Lemon shrank back. "Look, we've all come to accept Hiccup, when you snapped at Gogo we asked her what was going on. By the time she told us Hiro had said that Hiccup was being brought to the hospital so we came here to see him."

With a shake of his head Tadashi spoke. "He won't want to see you."

"And you think that I wanted to see him?" Gogo scoffed.

Snapping his attention to her Tadashi took a fistful of her jacket and yanked her so close that their faces were inches apart.

"This isn't about you Ethel." He snarled. "He apologized to you. He allowed you to hit him. He tried to play nice. He lost his leg for you. He kept you away from the police so that Krei couldn't get to you. He went through all of the torture he put you through beforehand to make sure that he knew what you were feeling to make sure he didn't hurt you beyond repair." Gogo honestly seemed shocked at the information, and Tadashi couldn't blame her for that. While she was aware of some of it, she wasn't aware of it all. "Because you couldn't let that go, because you couldn't get over what had happened and moved on he nearly died. Someone I care about, someone I love, someone that I trusted you guys to meet is now laying in a hospital bed and it's all your fault." He refused to sugar coat it. He refused to hold back on how he actually felt about the situation, about how he felt about her. "Hiccup isn't a saint, but no one deserves to have that done to them, and you just handed him over on a silver platter. You've become just as bad as the monster you made him out to be."

Tadashi gave her a firm shove back as he let her go, taking a moment to stare at each of his friends before he gave another shake of his head.

"Go home you guys. Now."

He didn't let them get in another word. He didn't care to see if they had anything else to say. He just ducked into Hiccup's hospital room and silently closed the door behind himself.

For a few long seconds he didn't move. His feet were firmly glued to the floor as he took in the area around him.

The giant window from across the room was completely uncovered, allowing for a wide amount of light to spill in and across the polished floors. It caused the light to bounce and reach the other wall where Tadashi stood. Even so only a splash of it sat across Hiccup's bed covers and rose and fell gently with each breath. There was only one bed in the room, something which Tadashi found odd considering the overcrowd in them which had been a probably recently but when he saw the cuff wrapped around the boy's wrist and the other end around the thick bars of the bed he figured he knew why.

Hiccup was going to be taken to prison. There was no denying that now. He'd failed in his attempt to work with the government and their target was dead. They weren't going to give him a break now, not when he hadn't been able to finish his end of the deal.

Although that thought stroked at a deep rage inside his chest strong enough to make breathing a struggle Tadashi pushed it aside. Finally getting his feet to move he slowly made his way over to where Hiccup was laying. Both of his arms were laying over the sheets, wrapped up in thick gauze and with different needles resting in the crook of his elbow to hook him up to different devices. Looking down at his one hand Tadashi felt tears sting his eyes at the sight of the gaps where his fingers use to be. He couldn't even begin to imagine how much that would have hurt. He didn't even want to think about it.

Thinking about Hiccup being all alone, tied down with no way to defend himself. Being tortured for hours upon hours. It tore at him, his anger and agony all mixing up together until he didn't know what to feel. He knew that he should have been there. He knew that he should have done something to protect the other. He had known that something was going on. He had known that something wasn't right. He should have pushed harder, he should have done something more.

"Tadashi?"

The voice was rough, the sound hoarse and scratchy, almost as if Hiccup had been chain smoking for years.

It was the most beautiful sound that Tadashi had ever heard.

He couldn't stop the wide smile from coming to his face, or the somewhat awkward burst of laughter that spilled passed his lips. In just a few long strides he was right by Hiccup's side, leaning over and pressing a soft kiss to his forehead.

"I'm right here Hiccup." He murmured comfortingly, bringing his hand up to press against the side of the auburn haired male's face.

Hiccup smiled back up at him as he wrapped his left hand around Tadashi's, his eyes half lidded in a way that made him appear almost giddily drunk.

"'m glad." Hiccup chuckled, his voice holding a bit of a slur no thanks to the large amount of drugs pumping through his system. "Was worried 'bout you."

A clanking noise drew both of their attention downwards, to look at Hiccup's right hand that he'd tried to raise. When he saw his hand Tadashi heard Hiccup gasp in shock and quickly snapped his attention back to his boyfriend's face.

"Tadashi! My fingers are gone!" Hiccup said, his voice to loud to be a whisper but to quiet to be much else. "Where'd they go? Oh! They're invisible." Suddenly Hiccup laughed, his head tilting back as he pressed his free hand against his forehead. "They packed their bags and headed south!"

Unsure of what to do, Tadashi let out a sad sort of chuckle, using his hand on Hiccup's cheek to draw his attention back towards the Asian male.

"Listen Hiccup, I'm sorry about your hand, but we can make some new fingers together okay? They won't replace the old ones but..."

"I love you."

The statement caught him off guard. He felt his mouth slipping open in shock at the honesty in the words shining through Hiccup's eyes.

"I love you too."

Of all of the places that he thought that he'd ever confess this to Hiccup it hadn't been in a hospital room. At the beaming smile he got in return for his words however he found that he didn't care where he'd imagined them saying it, wherever it was it wouldn't have been more special than this moment right here.

"Come 'ere." Hiccup muttered, scooting over slightly so that Tadashi could slip in the bed next to him. Not wanting to refuse the other Tadashi carefully manoeuvred his way into the space between Hiccup and the bar. Once he was well situated he wrapped his arms around the other and found that he couldn't stop smiling when Hiccup let out a relaxed sigh of content.

"'m still mad at you though."

Raising his brow in question Tadashi looked down at his boyfriend to see that Hiccup was now scowling up at him in an adorably pouty way.

"Oh?" He chuckled, gently running his hand through the boy's hair as Hiccup nuzzled into him. "Why is that?"

"You were mean." Hiccup said as his free hand played with the collar of Tadashi's shirt. "Called me names, made fun of me." Tadashi didn't remember any of that, but he assumed that this is what Hiccup had been so mad about before he'd dropped off the edge of the world. "You said I was a slut and that I only acted tough."

"What? I said that."

"Yes." Hiccup scowled, giving a hard pinch to Tadashi's side in a form of punishment that made the other jump. "'m gonna kick your ass about it later." He promised, cuddling closer to Tadashi side.

"Well I'm sorry that I said any of the stuff. None of it is true." Tadashi confirmed, placing a kiss against Hiccup's forehead again while snatching his wrist at the same time to make sure that he didn't try and pinch him again. "You're the strongest, most toughest person I know Hic."

"Damn straight I am." Hiccup muttered with a curt nod of his head.

"There's nothing straight about you Hic."

"Mean."

Snickering at the auburn haired male Tadashi rested his chin on top of the boy's head.

"Just so we're clear though, once you're better I'm going to kick your ass for not telling me about any of this."

Hiccup gasped again, pulling back just enough so that he could look up at Tadashi with wide eyes. "But I was protecting you."

"By putting yourself in danger?"

"Well," Hiccup bit down on his bottom lip as his brows drew together in concentration. "I want'd to stay with you but yours life's so different. So I cut a deal to get out and...oh. Oh no." Seeing Hiccup's whole face suddenly fall broke Tadashi's heart as what this meant caught up to him. "Krei knows!" He cried. "Now he's gonna get rid of the evidence and I'm gonna go to jail! We can't be together Tadashi."

"Sh." Rubbing his hand up and down the boy's arm soothingly Tadashi continued. "It's going to be okay Hic. Krei's gone. He won't hurt you anymore alright? He... I pushed him through a window."

Another gasp. "Tadashi!"

"And I'm not going to let you go to jail okay? I've got an idea..."

Before he could elaborate on that anymore the door opened and Astrid's head popped in through the doorway.

"Do you mind if we come in?"

Not seeing any reason to deny her simple request Tadashi waved her in. As the rest of the riders spilled into the room along with Hiro right on their heels Tadashi felt a warm feeling stirring in his stomach as Hiccup rested his head against Tadashi's chest with a sigh. Making small circles against the boy's upper arm Tadashi laid mostly in silence while he listened to the group talking to their leader. It didn't escape his notice when Hiro snapped a quick picture of the two of them before showing it to Hiccup who cooed over it adorably in his super high state before he settled against Tadashi once more.

He knew just what he was going to do. He couldn't let Hiccup go, and he wasn't handing him over either. He didn't care where they ended up or how, as long as Hiccup was by his side.


	38. Chapter 38

It's A Long Way Down

Chapter 38

Hiro wasn't sure what had woken him. His clock hadn't gone off, and the sun was barely filtering in through his window. When he'd finally managed to get to sleep last night it had been around two in the morning, seeing that his clock said that it was six right now he highly doubted that it was because he'd managed to get a full night of sleep.

Every time he tried to close his eyes however he found that he couldn't slip back into a peaceful slumber. Something about this morning just felt off.

With a small huff he pushed himself up from his bed. Allowing his blanket to pool into his lap he rubbed at his eyes before resting his elbows on his knees. It was probably the whole thing with Hiccup that was bothering him. He could barely stomach seeing him in the hospital, he had no idea how Tadashi managed to do it. It also felt extremely unfair. Sure Hiccup was a bad guy but he was trying to get out of that. Hiro couldn't believe after all he'd been through that the people he'd been working with were just dropping him like that.

He couldn't believe that they were going to throw Hiccup into jail for the rest of his life. Just what kind of harm did they think that he was going to be now? Just what kind of threat did they think he processed? While Hiro knew that even with a missing hand Hiccup could be just as bad as before he had seen the guy himself. Hiccup wanted nothing to do with that part of his life anymore. In fact the only thing he really seemed interested in was staying glued to Tadashi's side.

A small smile worked its way over his lips as he remembered walking in on Hiccup and Tadashi when they thought that the rest of the group had finally headed out. Thankfully neither of them had noticed him, but he couldn't get their smiling faces out of his head. They had just seemed so happy, regardless of everything that had happened. It was as if as long as they had each other they were going to be completely fine.

At the reminder that Hiccup was to be taken to a high security prison however Hiro felt his smile fall once more. This was going to kill his brother. No, worse than that, it was going to completely destroy him.

Glancing over to the divider that separated their rooms Hiro found his attention being caught at one small detail.

Tadashi's 'door' was open.

That was an odd thing in itself. While Tadashi was always up early so that he could go for his runs and whatnot, he didn't leave his divider open in the morning. Ever.

Pushing his blanket to the end of his bed Hiro crawled across the comforter and placed his feet on the ground. Quietly padding his way across the wooden floor to the other side of the room he carefully peered around the corner.-And felt his stomach drop.

Tadashi's bed was made, his baseball cap was sitting on his pillow, and right next to that was a folded note with Hiro's name written on the fold.

With lead filled feet Hiro made his way towards the paper, no longer caring just how loud he was. He didn't even realize how much his hands were shaking until he reached out and saw it for himself. Still, he grabbed the tip to the paper and lifted it from the bed. He had to blink his eyes a few times to clear them of their sudden blurriness but he didn't hesitate in opening what Tadashi had left behind. There was no doubt in his mind that he already knew just what this was going to say, but that didn't make it any easier to stomach as he looked down and read the note.

Hey Hiro,

I'm sorry that I had to do this to you little brother. Trust me when I tell you that I didn't want to leave either you or Aunt Cass behind, but I feel like I was left with no choice.

I'm not an idiot, there's no way that Hiccup can fit into my world and there's no way that I'm ever going to fit into his. So we're leaving and making our own.

You know that if I could do this any other way than I would, but for now this is the only solution that I can come up with. I can't let them take Hiccup away from me, not again. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I just let him go without a fight so I've decided to take him away. I can't tell you where we're going, I don't want to police to find this letter and find us, but I will be back to see you and visit you guys in the future when this dies down, or even come get you for visits every once and awhile. Even though I won't be there in person I'll still be watching out for you so don't do anything stupid alright?

Bye for now,

Tadashi.

PS: Hey Hiro it's Hiccup. Don't worry I'll make sure to kick his ass for you for leaving but we'll be stopping by for Christmas and whatnot. Of course we can't go to your house or anything for a good year or two but just keep your eyes open and you'll find us. ;) Later Short Stuff. :P Oh ya! And I want you to send me that picture of me and Tadashi from the hospital! Thanks!

Even though tears were sliding down his cheeks and staining the paper Hiro had to cover his mouth to stifle his laughter. It's not that anything in the letter was funny, actually his whole chest felt tight at the knowledge that his brother wasn't going to be in his bed in the morning and that he would no longer see him in school, but at the same time it felt...right. Tadashi had finally made a choice. He'd made a choice that would make him happy. He was finally being selfish for once in his life and choosing what he wanted for himself rather than what everyone else wanted.

It tore Hiro's heart apart that Tadashi was gone, but he was happy that Tadashi was finally doing what he wanted. He was happy that Tadashi had found someone that he could be himself around and who he actually cared for. While he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do about the police that would no doubt be here very soon, or what he was supposed to say to the rest of the group, or how Aunt Cass would react, he knew that he'd be able to figure it out... eventually.

Wiping at his eyes with the heels of his palms Hiro quickly shoved the note into the pocket of his pajamas and made his way down to talk to his Aunt.


End file.
